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Here Is Exactly When The Magic Begins To Happen.Posted in:Performance & Productivity-Massively successful people focus on one thing. Think about the times in your life when you really needed results. Maybe you were broke and had to have money in the next 24 hours to pay your bills. You had no other option but to figure it out. Chances are that you figured it out. Why? …

You Don’t Get To Choose When You’re Successful.Posted in:Mindset & Purpose-Success isn’t automatic; but it is guaranteed. Just like the laws of nature and science, success is an exact and very consistent outcome. What you do becomes what you get. That much is guaranteed. What’s not easily known is when that’s going to happen. It’s been said by many philosophers that as humans we dramatically …

EFFORT IS THE GREAT EQUALIZER .Posted in:Performance & Productivity-Make no mistake, there is no achievement without effort. There is no forward progress without activity. Where is no championship without work. You get to decide how important that achievement or progress is to you. You get to decide if you're willing to sacrifice for what you want or if you're willing to let what you want become that sacrifice.

YOU CAN’T DREAM BIG UNTIL YOU FORGIVE.Posted in:Relationships & Love-You can’t dream big when your vision is clouded by personal frustration and negative emotions. Jealousy, envy, and rage blind you to living your best possible life. You can’t see straight. You can’t think straight. You can’t dream big, act big, level up, or improve. It’s just not possible to achieve awesome when what you …

HOW WOULD THIS LOOK FROM ABOVE?Posted in:Leadership & Influence-The higher you are, the further you can see. I am reminded of this every time I go trail running. (Mostly because I tend to be clumsy.) During a long ultra marathon, you find yourself twisting and turning through the trails to make it to your destination. Sometimes stumbling. Falling over rocks and sticks. You …

YOU’LL DREAM BIGGER BEING INSPIRED BY OTHERS.Posted in:Mindset & Purpose-You have probably heard a trainer, coach, leader, or guru tell you that before you can achieve success you have to know what you want. There’s truth to that. You can’t achieve what you cannot imagine. In other words, before it becomes real in life, it has to be real in your imagination. You have …

THE COST OF SMALL BAD DECISIONS.Posted in:Performance & Productivity-I often joke from the stage that my mom used to tell me “If you can’t do something brilliant, just don’t do something stupid.” By this time in my life and after hundreds of keynotes I’m not actually sure if it was my mom or someone else that told me that. Maybe it was a …

WHAT GOES IN IS WHAT COMES OUT.Posted in:Mindset & Purpose-What goes in is what comes out. Out of your mouth. Out of your actions. Your results aren’t an accident. Your decisions aren’t an accident. It’s not chance or luck or bad timing. “MAKING BETTER DECISIONS IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO WHAT YOU ALLOW INSIDE YOUR SOUL AND THE COMPOUNDING EFFECT OF THOSE CHOICES OVER TIME.” …

YOU HAVE TO REMIND YOURSELF TO MAKE BETTER DECISIONS.Posted in:Leadership & Influence-Suicide is a bad decision. So is drinking and driving or not wearing a seatbelt. But that doesn’t stop people from making those decisions. In the United States alone more than a 120 people take their lives each day. A heartbreaking, bad decision. Every 51 seconds, someone dies as a result of a drunk driver. …

USE YOUR SUPERPOWER.Posted in:Energy & Health-Do you know what makes you special? What's your superpower? Maybe it's your ability to be blunt. Your ability to see the big picture when one of the people get bogged down in the details. Your knack for befriending almost anyone.

Your Own AwesomePosted in:Podcast, Uncategorized-Your Own Awesome (153)- Dan, Broc, and Matt reminisce over breakfast in Dallas on the Bring Your Own Awesome interviews and what they were able to take away from them.

WHY YOU STRUGGLE TO BE VALUABLE TO OTHERS.Posted in:Wealth & Money-What you value impacts how valuable you become. What you consider to be a talent or skill or something worth note of your time and attention impacts how you behave. How you treat others. What you do and where you go.

11 PRACTICAL WAYS TO MAKE YOUR BUDGET ACTUALLY WORK.Posted in:Wealth & Money-So by now you realize you need a budget in order to successful manage and grow your money. You’ve probably even downloaded an app (or two) and made a spreadsheet. You’ve meticulously gone through your bills. Payday comes. Now what? Do you stick with your budget or do you cheat, hoping that everything will work out okay in …

I DIDN’T DO THIS. THEY DID.Posted in:Mindset & Purpose-The truth about achieving success is that it is a team sport. You aren't where you are right now all because of yourself. And if you make something more of yourself, it will be because of others coming alongside you.

THAT IDIOT WHO CHANGES EVERYTHING.Posted in:Mindset & Purpose-Ed McCracken. He was the CEO of the company. Handpicked by the board. But Jim couldn’t utter the man’s name without referring to him as “Fucking Ed McCracken.” After everything he had been through.

JUST TAKE IT A STEP AT A TIME.Posted in:Mindset & Purpose-It is usually always a scary long distance between where you are now and where you want to be.Which is why it's important that you focus on progress rather than where you are right now.

YOU DECIDE YOUR FUTUREPosted in:Mindset & Purpose-What would you do if someone told you that you only had three years to live? Charlie Wedemeyer got the shocking diagnosed of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) when he was in his early 30s.

Quit. Tomorrow.Posted in:Leadership & Influence-When you feel like giving up, do it tomorrow. When you have finally decided that you've done all you can do, and make the call to quit -- put it off until tomorrow.

Learning Your Way To Awesome.Posted in:Uncategorized-Chris Gardner, barely older than a toddler, hadn’t grasped the concept that he was living in a foster home. He only knew that his mother and his stepfather had disappeared one day and he was living with strangers.

The Wonder Of Getting Started.Posted in:Business & Career-The great pyramids of Egypt were started by a single stone, placed by a single worker on that first day. That single stone didn't amount to much of anything. The slave worker who placed it there didn't get a bonus. There wasn't a celebration to commemorate the occasion.

The Fiction You Feel.Posted in:Mindset & Purpose-Just because you're afraid doesn't mean that you can't be a high performer. In truth, the greatest competitors are always fearful. They know the stakes. They appreciate the cost of losing. They don't want to experience the pain of losing.

18 Things Winners Believe.Posted in:Mindset & Purpose-Winners see the world differently than everyone else. They aren't perfect. And they don't get an easier version of life than you do. But they always seem to bounce forward.

I Make Way Too Many Excuses.Posted in:Performance & Productivity-I've finally come to a starting realization -- I make too many excuses. I hate it when my team tells me that something isn't possible. Yet I'll tell myself that a big goal I want to achieve isn't really a possibility.

What You Put Into You.Posted in:Wealth & Money-What you put into yourself is what you get out. Happiness in. Happiness out. Anger in. Anger out. You're going to have bad days where you do things you're not proud of. But as a rule, your output is directly related to your input.

Your Cross To Bear.Posted in:Uncategorized-Success won't come easily. And not because you're not smart enough or strong enough. Not because you don't want it bad enough. Success hurts because you hurt.

Living An Unbeatable Life.Posted in:Wealth & Money-Born in the heart of Switzerland surrounded by the Swiss Alps, Dick Williams knew what it meant to live the “good life”. He never had to worry about how he’d pay for his education: his parents paid for a private tutor at a Swiss boarding school, teaching him to speak fluent French & German.

Creativity Is Messy.Posted in:Leadership & Influence-Creativity is messy. Innovation isn't linear. You might automatically assume that as you learn and grow and mature that all of your insight and experience will propel you in a straight line towards where you want to be.

9 Steps To Creating Your Greatest Comeback Story.Posted in:Leadership & Influence-You're not going to make the journey to success without getting knocked down. You're going to make mistakes. You're going to do things that end up costing you money, time, and friendships with people you love. You're going to feel depressed, forlorn, and completely demotivated.

The Superpower of Hustle.Posted in:Leadership & Influence-Great athletes train their muscles to respond with extreme precision even when the rest of their body is fatigued. A great golfer will often practice a particular swing hundreds of times per day and thousands of times over a year to create a memory for the muscles that make that swing work.

What Is it Going To Take?Posted in:Uncategorized-What's it going to take to get your attention? You've been wasting your time. Filling your life with self-destructive behaviors and fulfilling personal addictions. Thinking little of the consequences that are sure to follow.

When You Tri More.Posted in:Mindset & Purpose-Swimming was everything Karen knew. While other girls her age were playing with dolls, she was in the pool--on her town’s swim team competing against older, stronger, and faster kids.

The Hard Truth About Gaining Experience.Posted in:Leadership & Influence-There are many things in life you will only learn through experience. And the only way to get that experience is through hard work. Not brains or degrees or mastermind groups or friends who have been there before. You have to do the work to get the experience.

Automatically Awesome?Posted in:Mindset & Purpose-Possibility is what you make it. It's possible to fail despite being the favorite to win. It's not impossible to win big despite being the person expected to lose.

How To Solve Any Problem.Posted in:Uncategorized-Activity is the antidote to almost any problem you face. It is the single greatest weapon that you have at your disposal -- your ability to dig your hands into a situation and create change.

You Need A Coach.Posted in:Business & Career-There's somebody out there who has already done it before. It doesn't matter what your goal is or what you would like to improve, there's somebody out there with a lot more experience than you who is willing to help you get to where you want to be.

You’re Not Willing To Be That Weirdo.Posted in:Business & Career-Hitting a golf ball correctly takes years of practice. Center yourself over the ball. Start with your arms straight and bend a little at the waste. Rotate the club backwards in an arc up towards your shoulder while twisting the hips to follow suit. Drive the clubhead through the ball like a hockey slapshot with your hips, arms, and shoulders. Finish with the club on your opposite shoulder.

If It Doesn’t Suck You’re Not Doing It Right.Posted in:Leadership & Influence-Like so many other 10-year-old boys, Kieran Behan went into surgery for a small tumor discovered on his leg. It was a routine surgery, performed thousands of times across the United Kingdom. Cut out the growth. Stitch up the wound. Today, of course, was to be no different.

Your thoughts and fears shape your perspective. Your perspective determines what you find in your future. What you want to see, you see. What you want to find, you find.If you believe that your best is yet to come then that is what you will find.In her autobiography, Oprah Winfrey wrote: "There is one irrefutable law of the universe: We are each responsible for our own life."

You're going to experience extreme hardship at times.Anything is possible if you're willing to do whatever it takes.It doesn't matter that no one else has done it before. It doesn't matter that you're stuck in the middle of nowhere with no help and fewer resources than you need. It doesn't matter that you're tired and sore and beaten down by all that you've been through. It's time to make success primal again. No more excuses. No more distractions.

Inspiration is the one thing you lose just after you stop looking for itThat's why your hustle matters so much.It matters that you get out of bed and go do something productive today. Even though you might not feel like doing that.It matters that you try to repair that fractured relationship. Even though the other person might not believe that you're sincere.

How To Beat Fear.Posted in:Uncategorized-Make no mistake, trying new things is scary. Venturing into the unknown is guaranteed to leave you filled with fear.After the initial glamor of pursuing something new, what you're left with is a sense that it is all about to crash down on you

Hard work is smart work. Working hard leads to working smarter.It's not the other way around. It doesn't work in reverse.That's because hard work creates busyness. And busyness forces you to make better choices.

Never bet against the individual who has everything to lose. That person who is so possessed with a sense of purpose and destiny that he or she is willing to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to achieve their desired outcome.

There are those that tell you that your crazy idea "will never work" and that it’s okay just to be “normal”. There are those who tell you to "keep your feet on the ground" and "be reasonable.They scoff and sigh at your ridiculous ideas and call you a flop.Nobody knows any more or any less than you do. Decide what you want. Then work fanatically until you get it. Keep iterating on your idea until it works.

You can’t get anywhere without a plan. To make progress, you need to get good at segmenting your day and using smart tools like a calendar to stay focused.Psychologically, you’re wired to complete easy wins without doing what it takes to invest in long-term success -- the daily meditations, reading time, or workouts you promised to start at the beginning of the year.

Mediocre people do mediocre things. Normal people, looking for normal results, do normal things.If you want to be extraordinary, then you have to do extreme things.You won't find breakthrough looking in the middle of your challenge. It's at the edges.

You don't have to get it right the first time. You just have to keep trying. Perfection isn't the goal. Getting to where you want to be is the goal.Often that is an ugly process. It's messy. Full of the human things that cause frustration and confusion.You're going to make mistakes along the way.

Think about the rules and conventional wisdom you have adopted to help you run your life. You believe that if you have more money that you will have fewer problems.You believe that you can't get a decent job without an advanced degree.You believe that you shouldn't feel good about yourself unless your body is sexy.You believe that the better you are at following these, the more assured you are of success.

When you think you’ve worked all you can, you’re walking away from 150% growth.You’re tougher than you think you are. You’ve got more potential. More power.You don’t have to be afloat for 76 days on the angry ocean, surrounded by sharks, to dig a little bit deeper.You can start today. Right now. This moment.

Smart people use smart tools to achieve greatness. It's hard to be maniacally focused on your goals when you're juggling 37 different tools, email accounts, social media profiles, and to do lists scattered throughout your phone, inbox, and refrigerator sticky notes. The other problem is that most of the tools being thrown at you today to help you make money, organize your business, or get things done are woefully incomplete or clunky.

Life isn't reasonable. It's not reasonable that some people are born into a lifetime of abject poverty while others are birthed with a silver spoon in their mouth.It's not reasonable that bad people get away with horrible crimes while others who try to bring justice to the helpless are taken advantage of.

Don't pretend like you're interested in changing your life when you're not willing to get up a little bit earlier each day to make that change start the stick. Don't fool yourself into thinking that tomorrow is going to be any different than today if you're not doing something different today that will change tomorrow.

You can't hold on to the past and move rapidly towards your future. You're living each day inside a rubber band that keeps pulling you back.Just about the time you think you've moved forward and made progress you realize that you're back in the middle of your anger and misery from the past. Snapped back from greatness.Which is what you have to let the past go. You have to forgive.

Even when people tell you to back off, to be reasonable, that it’s okay to “move on”, that “it wasn’t meant to be”.Even when people tell you “no”. Even when they tell you “no” a second time. And a third time. And a hundred times after that.Keep fighting. Do the next thing. That ice-cold determination to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes is exactly what it takes.

Greatness isn't a status. It's an attitude. It's not one particular thing you achieve. It's the consistency with which you maintain momentum heading towards your goal.It is measured by the focus you apply to perfecting the details. It's magnified by the speed and sincerity with which you apologize for your mistakes along the way.

Your reality isn't a fact. It is just your perspective. What you consider to be ordinary and normal, other people are guaranteed to see as obscure and special.

Your perspective is shaped over the years of your life. Your specific circumstances and upbringing play a major influence in how you interpret the world around you.A bad day for you in a first world country might be the dream of a lifetime for someone in a third world country just trying to stay alive.

You wouldn't laugh at an apple seed that you just planted in the ground, calling it a loser because it's not delivering bushels of ripe apples each season. You just planted it. It's still a seed.In time, with enough water and sunlight, fertilizer and proper attention, it will begin to grow into a skinny wisp of a tree trunk. So thin that it seems the wind will blow it over at any time.You must protect it until it can gain strength from deeper roots and a stronger base.

Every day, you are presented with countless opportunities to impact your destiny. How you respond to those opportunities every day ultimately decides the full measure of the greatness that you achieve.

Most business problems have nothing to do with business. Most leadership problems have a little to do with leadership.Most of these challenges stem from personal flaws.In other words, the greatest benefit you can give to your business is to grow yourself. To round out your rough edges.

Your friendships determine your destiny. Who you are as a competitor, what you achieve in life, and how you react to everyday circumstances -- these are all reactions shaped by the people you surround yourself with most.Your friends. Your family. Your mentors, co-workers, peers, and fellow competitors.

There's an important lesson you learn when you're a long distance runner. All the pain goes away when you stop running. Your blisters stop hurting. Your stressed muscles stop screaming at you.All the things that hurt start to feel better the instant you stop.Once you stop, all that's left is either the shame of not doing your best or the uncontrollable happiness of achieving what you set out to do.The instant you stop it starts to feel better.

There's no special skill to not giving up. You aren't born with any special genomes that automatically make you less likely to quit.The truth is that every day you face tough choices and scary obstacles.On one hand, you have the things you want for yourself money, happiness, fitness, friends and fulfillment.

Why do you want that money in the first place? Why are you in the position where you need more money right now? If you weren't able to make more money, what's the worst that could happen?When you can answer those questions honestly, you're ready to achieve your desired goal.Success demands that you anchor yourself around "why" and "how" and "when" -- instead of just thinking about "what" it is that you want.

Just because you're uncomfortable doesn't mean that you're doing the wrong thing. Just because there are obstacles in your way doesn't mean you're executing the wrong strategy.One of the biggest mistakes you can make about success is believing that if you had the perfect plan you wouldn't have any of the problems associated with making progress.

The principles that drive success are timeless. They are not trendy or fashionable. They don't just work in a particular region or for one generation. They aren't governed by how much money you have or what degrees and certificates you have achieved.

Most of the time you're not going to be sure. That's the challenge of making hard decisions and trying to pursue your goal without having already been down the path that you need to go.There are clues that lead you to believe you should be doing what you're doing.

You can't change your life or improve your financial position without physical and emotional discomfort.It's going to cost you something to achieve breakthrough.The free or easy option you're looking for is just a slow-release poison that will rob you of everything magical and wonderful you've been wanting for yourself.The things in life that don't cost you anything don't mean anything to you.

The longer you try to fix or focus on things that are outside your control, the more depressed and hopeless you're going to feel.It's inevitable that you're going to give up. Quit. Decide that life is too unfair for someone like you.That's probably because you're focusing on something you can't fix. You're fixated on the wrong thing.

There is no greatness without pain and struggle. Change demands friction and adjustment. Both of which are uncomfortable.The hard truth about accomplishing big things is that it is going to cost you more then you ever expect.You think you're ready to play the game. You think you know the risk involved.

The biggest difference between winners and losers is how they each think. Winners think about winning. What they want. What they need to do. Where they need to do it. And how.Losers think about not losing. They don't want to be embarrassed or look like a fool.At a quick glance, it looks like both sets of people are aiming for the same goal. They are both putting in effort. They each have goals and dreams and aspirations.

Hustle doesn't always mean sprint. Most often it means "grind." That's the tough truth about trying to go places. It's not usually going to go the way you want it to. At least not right away.You have to fight for every inch of progress you want to achieve.On the good days, you're going to feel like what you're doing actually matters.On the bad days, you're going to feel like a complete loser.

There aren't many secrets you will die with. The truth about life and your pursuit of success is that the truth eventually comes out. If you've been living a lie, you're guaranteed to be discovered -- even if it takes decades.If you're feeling undiscovered and discouraged by a lack of recognition, know that your hard work and consistent focus will pay off eventually

Believe strongly. Believe passionately. Don't expect everyone else to believe what you do or how you do. But believe something.Most people go an entire lifetime without really knowing what they believe. Never really believing in the things that they say they believe.Beliefs about honesty.Beliefs about opportunity. Beliefs about cause and effect.

They wouldn’t have been hired by your company. They surely wouldn’t have been promoted. And had they made their way up the corporate ladder, they would have been "those guys."The outcasts, eccentric and impossibly difficult people that everyone else looks at with a sigh and shake of the head.

Do what you love. Follow that path passionately. Don't be distracted by what other people tell you should be important.Money follows passion. It doesn't proceed it.Happiness follows passion. You don't find it by avoiding your passion.

Forever is a long time. It's practically never. It's easy to assume that because something has never happened for you that it never will. It's easy to assume when you're discouraged that failure from your past is the only likely future you can expect. Time is the great equalizer. Never really means "not yet."

It's easy to get started. It's easy to try something new. It's easy to think about what you can do better.And when you do those easy things day after day, moment after moment, you end up achieving things that you used to think were hard.You make hard thing easy.

Success demands that you do things that are hard. Not just difficult to achieve with incredible amounts of effort, but uncomfortable and frustrating every step of the way.Doing the hard things isn't really about choosing goals that are massively difficult and then adopting a radical lifestyle that will propel you mightily toward your goal.That's awesome if you choose it for your path. Impressive, indeed. But for most people, you don't need to veer so far away from what is obvious.

You don't have forever to get to where you want to be. Time is limited. So is the money and emotional strength you need to grind past the obstacles that stand in your way right now.Make no mistake: every day is a new opportunity to make progress. You can get started being amazing at any moment.

No matter how bad things are right now for you, they are better than they could be. That alone should fuel your sense of gratitude.And when you think about it further, you realize how very good you have it.No matter how desperate your situation might feel, you still have the opportunity for change going forward.

A lot of our lives are filled with tiny white lies. We exaggerate our fitness, our financial health, how we feel, and the facts around the things that scare us most.We embellish the truth almost automatically. It's something that is subconscious.Something we do in order to feel better about ourselves. To fit in. To take a break. To have a reason for not hitting the mark.

Business studies tell us that a disgruntled sales executive will stay at their job for 11 months before they actually decide to quit. Most of the time, the news of them leaving is a surprise to their employer. 11 months. Unhappy and unmotivated.

You think you want to win. But ego has a strange way of blinding you to poor behavior.You say you want to win. But usually that means you want the thing you're doing right now to be a winning thing.You don't want your process or ideals to be questioned. You don't want to believe that your critics might be right.

Live like you've never been hurt before. Like you've never taken a chance and fallen flat on your face.Live like each investment of your time and money yields magnificent results.Live expecting your love and attention to come back to you tenfold.You've often heard people tell you to live like it's your last day on earth.

Being successful isn't a task you complete all by yourself. The people around you have a direct impact on what you achieve. Your friendships matter. Your community matters. Both of these are your choice. Something that you should be aware of.

You can always find something to distract you. Even if you're not looking for a distraction, it's easy to waste time being distracted.Sports and school, work, weekend plans, and family -- they all have a way of momentarily costing you momentum.You're busy doing things that get you closer to where you want to be when unexpected distractions force you to stop and focus your attention on something else.

You know that sick feeling you get deep down in your stomach when you're disappointed in yourself? You know you could have done better. Maybe even won. But you didn't try hard enough.You didn't get started soon enough. You didn't have enough intensity, urgency, or drive to do enough of what mattered.

Most of your life is just a series of decisions. The rest of it is you sleeping. Every waking moment, you have unlimited opportunities to do the things that you think are important. Everything is a choice.You can change your mind 100 times in a row. You can get started on something and then stop and go do something else.

You won't ever get to where you want to be if you can't get things done consistently. Whether it is a New Year's resolution or a new life direction, you have to do something different if you want to achieve success. That requires focus and determination and a plan for getting things done.If you can't get things done, you'll never change your life for the better.

The world will always be full of small-minded people and negative circumstances. There will always be things that distract you and days that seem to beat you down.It's going to happen. It might be happening right now.In truth, the only thing that will keep you safe is a dream. The only way past mediocrity and negativity is imagination. Imagination and will.

If you don't believe that you deserve to lose weight, you won't.If you don't believe that you deserve to make more money, you won't.If you don't believe that you deserve to find happiness, you won't. If you don't believe that you deserve to get what you want, you won't ever get it, find it, keep it, gain it, or win it.

Go ahead. Make a resolution to be better. Use the new year as an opportunity to find greatness. Do what you should have done last year right now. Get started being busy.Make no mistake though; it's not a new year you've been looking for. It's not a new day that you've been needing.It's desire. A deep craving for success.

Instead of hoping this year is better than last year. Instead of wishing that tomorrow would be different from today. Instead of feeling frustrated, pointing fingers, and making excuses.Instead of staying stuck, resolve to do things differently this coming year.Resolve to be open minded. Resolve to be candid.Resolve not to be petty. Resolve to start doing the things you've been scared to do up until now.

Having hope changes everything. It gives you the courage to try something new. It gives you the stamina and endurance to keep working even when it seems like what you're doing isn't paying off right now.Hope gives you a potential ending to your story.It's a light at the end of the tunnel. The understanding that what you're going through right now, the pain and fear and struggle -- they aren't forever.

Do your thing. Play your game. Put in your effort. Don't worry about them. It'll all work out in the end.There is only so much time in the day. You can spend that time chasing justice against those who do you wrong or you can invest it in your long-term success.You can just make forward progress.

You say you're working hard enough. But are you? You say you care about other people. But do you? Really?You say that you're continuing to learn and grow and evolve. But are you?Or are you just telling yourself lies to feel better about the state of your life?

One of the most powerful strategies for business is also the simplest. And most overlooked. Companies who continue to massively grow and scale and drive success focus intently on creating surprise and delight.In their industry. With existing customers. To their target prospects and ideal customers.

It's easier to make excuses for your bad behavior rather than have to fix problems that have been lurking under the surface in your life for years. It's easier to question the universe and whine that you don't get the same breaks that everyone else does rather than just showing up and doing hard work each day

The fear of death has an interesting way of changing your perspective. It shows you clearly, in an instant, what matters and what doesn't.No more games or passive aggressive excuses. No more unhealthy advice from negative friends. No more pretending. Just raw, unfiltered clarity.You can see the truth. You know what matters.

What you do or don't do when you are afraid indicates exactly what is missing from your life.What you need to improve. What is missing from your life. What you need to do to be successful.For breakthrough, start there.

You've got to be tough if you're going to win. There are no two ways about it. Tough times and hard decisions demand mental toughness. And emotional and financial toughness.The space in between getting started and crossing the finish line is full of challenges and unexpected setbacks.The line between "not working" and "not working yet" can get blurry and frustratingly confusing.

It might not feel like it right now, but it's all going to be okay. Things are going to work out.You're going to figure it out. Your situation is not as gloomy and dour as it feels right now.You've got problems.

There isn't anything you can't do. It's that simple. Make no mistake, you will have limitations in your way.Physical qualities will challenge you as a human. Financial obstacles will require your attention. Politics and changing economics around the world will demand that you adjust.But just because things change and you're required to do hard things doesn't mean that you can't get to where you want to be.

One of the biggest lies you can tell yourself is that you aren't as successful as you want to be because you don't have the right education. That you need the right degree from the right college to get the right results. Getting the results that you want for yourself is about hustle and heart and effort. You have to learn and evolve and grow.

There are no rules to being successful. There is no guaranteed formula that you can follow to automate the journey from where you are now to where you want to be.What works for someone else probably isn't going to work for you. What used to work for you in the past might not even work for you right now.It's not as easy as scribbling off check boxes on a list or finalizing the process outlined on your set of self-help DVDs.

The hard truth about battle is that how hard you care about the outcome determines how long you're willing to keep fighting to get that outcome.Care is passion and stamina, creativity, insight and resilience.It's the seed kernel from which all of those elements first begin.In truth, you already care about something.

A lot of your time is spent waiting. You're working. You're investing in the right training. You're doing things.Not just sitting idly by. But you're waiting.Waiting for the effort you've invested to start paying off. Waiting for the right time to kick-off the next step in your strategy.

There's no secret formula that makes trying any less of a struggle. There's no magic, super secret, or special process that guarantees you avoid failure.The hard truth about trying is that it almost always includes massive amounts of disappointment.You think you know what you want. You think you have a plan that will work. You're determined and resilient and focused on achieving your goal.

How do you know that you can't achieve that goal? Then why would you say that out loud? Why would you even allow yourself to think it?Achieving success is hard enough without you doubting your own abilities.

The greatest skill you have is your will. Your stubbornness. And determination. Your focused obsession on turning an idea into success.It's easy to forget the personal element you bring to the struggle for getting to where you want to be.

In 1828, Dr. Dionysys Larder, a science writer and academic made the case that “rail travel at high speed is not possible because passengers would be unable to breathe.” Today, the Shanghai Maglev Train reaches 268 mph during its daily service......

You won't drown because you're surrounded by water. You drown when water gets in you. The same is true for doubt and fear and negativity.It's all around you. And that's not a problem until it seeps inside you. And you feel yourself drowning.

No one is out to get you. You might feel discouraged, bullied and beat down. You might be surrounded by people who seem to delight in your misery.Things might be incredibly difficult for you. With no end in sight and no apparent way out of the challenges you are facing.Before you blame somebody else for your situation, have you ever considered that you might be miserable and stuck and lonely and frustrated because of your own actions?

Your biggest strength is also the most likely opportunity for you to fail. It creates the best opportunity and environment for failure.Determination and resilience are essential qualities that all champions exhibit. But left unchecked, those same qualities will turn you into a bully.You will belittle those who don't agree with you or when you don't feel like you are getting your way.

If you wait for the right time or the right people to get started doing what needs to be done, you'll never get started. If you stop trying because other people are cold and unkind you'll never get anywhere.

You either train tough or learn to quit when trouble arrives. Imagine how differently you would live your life if you woke up every morning training to win an Olympic event. You would be careful about what you eat and how much sleep you get each night.You would have a daily training regimen, a coach that you rely on, and competitors that you compare yourself against.

Winners don’t give up. They want to at times. They just don’t. They get hurt. They feel pain. They get angry. They make mistakes -- sometimes big ones. But they keep going. They keep moving towards where they want to be.

There is always an excellent reason to give up. And if you look for a reason to justify quitting when things get uncomfortable, there is always a legitimate option available. That doesn’t mean it’s the right decision to make......

Everything isn't all bad. Life isn't over. You're just facing a problem. Frustration has a way of corrupting your perspective.When you're feeling angry and confused by the situation you are in at the time, it's easy to feel like nothing is going right. Like everything is a problem.

What you do matters. The choices and decisions you make have a clear impact on your future. Your results aren't some accident or the result of mysterious karma.The things that are happening to you right now are the direct result of your actions and attitudes in the past.Your actions right now dictate your future.

It was Tokyo, Japan. The evening of February 11, 1990. Another heart-stopping boxing performance expected from the angriest boxer to ever set foot inside the ring. They billed the fight: Tyson Is Back! The storyline seemed ripped from a horror movie. Walking into the arena, James Douglas was a 42-1 underdog.

It takes a different brand of crazy to achieve outrageous results. It's not logical to obsess about details that are probably already good enough.It's not normal to try to improve what might even be considered great.That's the difference between people who achieve extraordinary things and everyone else.

You don't have to be perfect.You don't have to get it right the first time around. Or even the second, third, or fourth time.That's the beautiful simplicity to trying. It's all on you. It is 100% within your control.You get to make all those seemingly inconsequential decisions that determine your success.

Sometimes the hard thing is nothing. Doing nothing. Just waiting. Usually, when you think of doing hard things, you think about investing superhuman effort or enduring an unusually high level of pain or discomfort.What is just as hard is to do nothing when you feel like doing everything.

Some days you just don't feel like getting it done. You're not feeling like making things happen.You're not motivated to go the extra mile. You're not even sure you can make it through the first mile. You're frustrated by the obstacles in your way and just not interested in doing anything.You want a do-over. To roll over, go back to bed, and wake up feeling inspired tomorrow.

You can't be like everybody else if you expect to be successful.It doesn't matter what you think about when you think about success, you won't achieve it without being different.In other words, you're going to have to be weird. A little bit odd. Sometimes even nutty.The hard truth is that most people aren't successful.

Progress comes from pain. There's no other way. It might be intellectual pain as you learn something new. It might be physical pain as you put your body through difficult exercise. It might be the emotional pain of unrequited love.Looking back just after the toughest moments in your life, you'll see very clearly that you are better.

To change this pattern, you have to be militant about where you want to go and how you want to get there. And then plug people into the equation.
You don't start with good people and then find jobs for them to do. You start with a good mission and then find awesome people to execute a specific part of it.

Once you know where the finish line is, you bring together the smartest group of people possible to ensure you get there.

You could send out a weekly newsletter marketing your services without any words -- only memes and GIFs. And as crazy as it seems to send out a newsletter without any news or writing, that strategy would become your thing.So don't spend too much time agonizing over that one magical thing you're missing that will transform your business and catapult you magnificently forward.Pretty much any idea will work.

History tells us that those 300 Spartans would take to their grave some 200,000 Persian enemy warriors.Against overwhelming odds and unbelievable opposition, ordinary people armed with a belief in a mission bigger than themselves drew a line in the sand. They decided what was worth living for. What was worth fighting for. What was worth dying for.

We call it being in labor. But it might as well be called the worst agony ever experienced. After nine months of tireless work nurturing a tiny seed into a tiny human, a new mom is faced with their toughest test yet. Childbirth.From within herself, she must deliver. And despite the presence of doctors, nurses, and highly competent emergency staff, this is a challenge that she must complete on her own.

There is no replacement for hard work. Without putting in the effort, you won't be able to achieve big results. There is no replacement for a kind word. Empathy is the most powerful force to heal other people.

Who Needs Motivation Anyway?Posted in:Uncategorized-You do. Right now. Today. This moment. Next week. Next month. Next year. Being motivated is the single biggest difference between those who achieve their goals and those who always seem to come up short. Winners stay motivated. They find the inner resolve to continue doing hard things long after everyone else has found a legitimate …

There's no one right way to do anything. There might be a better way or a faster way. A plan that is cheaper. An idea that makes money faster.Just don't be fooled into thinking that just because it worked for someone else it's going to work for you too.

You might feel better because you don't have to handle an awkward situation right now.But the problem is still there. And your important decision is still there.Your tough choice is still there. You've just got blinders on.Which means you're on a crash course with failure.

What do you have to lose? Time? Money? Your reputation? What you're afraid to lose tells an interesting perspective about your priorities.Many people will work hard to get a reward that matters to them, but almost everyone will put in extra effort to not lose something.It's a fascinating study in human nature.

Fearless. And without pretense.If he wants something, he goes out to get it -- using all the skill and ferocity in his disposal to achieve success.There is no thought of backing down or playing it safe.The lion gets what the lion wants. At all costs.He might die trying.

Today is a brand new day.This moment -- what is happening right now -- is your opportunity to rebound. To get stronger and smarter.You could waste this opportunity and stay down or you can take small steps to get to where you want to be.You can go through anything. But you've got to get up first.Do that now.

Most of life isn't going to happen on your terms. You don't get to choose how most of your day turns out. Circumstances change without you asking for your approval.You just have to deal with it. You have to react like you're ready. Like this moment is the one you've always been waiting for.But how do you do that when you feel blindsided by events or hurt by the actions of friends?

You've got to work like you believe it's just about to happen.You've got to put in that final burst of effort you get when you see the finish line just ahead.Even when you don't.You have to remind yourself that anything is possible.

You'll give up. Just go through the motions.Believing isn't automatic. It doesn't just happen.It is a spirit that you have to nurture. A mindset you have to protect.It's not a guarantee you'll keep it once you have it. It's the most precious and powerful force working to make you successful.

Obviously it wasn't meant to be," you tell those around you.Somehow you must have it harder than everyone else around you. Your goals must be a little tougher -- a little more difficult -- than everyone else's goals.Your excuses get louder than your effort. When no one is looking you stop trying. When everyone else starts to notice you make sure you have a good story ready to tell.

You invest and work and deliver, sweat, fight, and bleed. Day after day after day.Not because you enjoy the pain of the battle or the fatigue the comes from sleepless nights and tired mornings.You put in the effort because you are absolutely obsessed with getting to where you want to be. You are unwilling to back down. Too stubborn to give up on your dreams.And so you put in the effort.

I wrote this podcast for myself on one those mornings where I wasn't feeling like a warrior at all. My spirit was broken. My effort seemed ridiculously unnecessary. I was tired and angry and completely frustrated.
My challenge to myself was to prove how much I could do on a day when I least felt like it. It was silly challenge. But it worked. I learned an important lesson -- "how you feel doesn't change what you could do if you tried".

Without a wish, you won't put in the work. We often decry emotions like wanting or wishing, hoping for or trying. We shrug them off with arrogant insights about "just go do it" or "just get it done".And certainly, getting things done is what matters.Thinking about what you want to improve doesn't automatically change anything.

Success is measured and who you are and the decisions you choose to make -- on the easy days and in those moments when nothing seems to be going your way no matter what you do.Only you matter. Only what you do matters.You can't blame anyone else if you're not where you want to be.Only you.

They're not happy with failure or underperformance.But they appreciate where they've been and the struggle that it takes to move them closer to where they want to be.You can't be around them long without them sharing a list of all the reasons why things are going well. They're grateful for their progress. They are encouraged by the work that they're doing. They're excited about the future.They are grateful.

We are all running from something. Fears from our past. Frustration in the present. Unrealized expectations for the future.It can be all-consuming.The thought that no matter what you do it's not good enough. The fear that you might never get to where you want to be. The regrets of failure from the past.

Perspective matters. You don't get the opportunity to see the entire picture.You see the part you're looking at right now. You feel the emotions you're having right now.That's not the entire story.You're not experiencing the entire situation. You're just getting a piece of it. Your perspective.

Just because you have to grovel and grind right now doesn't mean you'll need to do that forever. Just because you're tired and beaten down from the battle you're in right now doesn't mean there won't be a day soon where you feel refreshed, motivated, and inspired by all the progress you've made.

There were books about sales and selling and strategy. There were books for leaders, CEOs, and executive management. But there weren't any books for a new sales manager.That was almost 20 years ago. You might be surprised that until a few years ago that had not changed.

One try means nothing. It's not a predictor, a sign, or a trend. It's just your first attempt.More ceremonial than anything else.Your first try is the starting line.A new beginning. Starting something new.

You think that you want to avoid failure. That anything other than success is the enemy. But the truth about life is that you will always lose more times than you win.If you're keeping a tally, you'll find yourself feeling like a loser more times than you feel like a hero.

Progress requires a struggle. Success demands a fight. You won't get to where you want to be without standing your ground and pushing back against the obstacles in your way.But just because you fight doesn't mean you're guaranteed to win.

You're always going to be afraid. It doesn't get any easier. You're always going to feel inadequate. That's because success is hard.You're always going to need more time. Especially if you are short on resources.In truth, it's never the perfect time to pursue your dreams

Somehow, we never felt like it was right to go back and re-record this first episode. Call it sentimental attachment. This is where we started. This whole podcast was a series of hard things. That seems to be the way it works for us at The EDGY Empire.

How would you know how to work smarter? You're told that you should. But how do you do it? How do you know that what you're told will work will work for you?The topic of work and effort and energy is one that has been debated for decades.Books have been written about working smarter. Speakers tour the country telling you how to work smarter.

It's easy to fall into the trap of assuming that because you're not successful yet that you'll never be.That because you aren't where you want to be right now that everything you've done so far has been a waste of your time.There's no way around it.

Being called "headstrong" usually isn't a compliment. It's the polite way to say that you're stubborn. Unwilling to change. Persistent enough that it's getting underneath the skin of those around you. But when you take a deeper look at this idea of being headstrong you realize the brilliance of the terminology. Strong mind. Strong goals. Strong vision. Headstrong.

"Not feeling like it" isn't a good excuse. You'll never feel like doing the hard things. Or the uncomfortable things.Why would you?You've been avoiding those sort of activities for some time now. And you'll never feel like it's a good time to get started working on them.

It takes courage to be honest about how you're living your life. You don't want to have to admit to yourself that you haven't been putting in the effort that your goals demand.You don't want to have to admit that instead of digging deep, you've just been going through the motions.

You say you believe in hard work, honesty, and integrity. But then you're willing to cut corners when you think no one is watching. You talk about operating on the basis of the Golden Rule. But then you lash out at people who "just don't get it".

I have a confession to make. I'm known around the world as the guy you call when you need to fix scary business problems.And that's cool. I love what I do and have spent many years working on my craft.But frankly, the reason I'm successful helping leaders isn't because of how smart I am or my experience. It's because I use "EDGY" as my framework -- my road map.

You won't always get it right all the time. In fact, you're likely to get it wrong much more often than you get it right.If you find yourself getting it right all the time, your goals aren't big enough. You aren't pushing yourself hard enough. It's too easy to do what you're doing.

Being motivated isn't an accident. It's a result. A consequence. The end product of focused, deliberate activity.It's not random. Or superstitiously elusive.Motivation is what you lose just after you stop looking for it.What motivates you?Rage can motivate you. So will fear or love.

How you've been behaving is the result of your past. The people who influenced you. Your life circumstances. And many other factors.You might have a past that leaves you feeling embarrassed. Disgusted. Maybe even discouraged.Don't make the mistake of assuming that just because things have been a certain way that they will always be a certain way.

You're not competing against them. The competition isn't between everyone else and you.It's between who you are right now and the better version of yourself you could be with more effort and focus.It doesn't matter what they do to you. It doesn't matter what they say. It doesn't matter how many times you try really hard and still fail.

t's easy in the moment of frustration or discomfort to assume that you're doing something wrong because of the resistance you feel to making progress.But that's the resistance that everyone feels. Smart people. Average people. Hard working people.They all feel the same resistance -- the same push back -- that you're facing right now.

Speed isn't what you're looking for. Momentum is. You think you want more sales right now. You think you want faster sales right now.But what you really want is to know that you can reliably produce revenue. That you can spot opportunities and turn those opportunities into revenue and increased wallet share with targeted customers.

It still isn't about skill.It's not good enough to be talented. It's not good enough to set goals for yourself. It's not even good enough to be better then everyone else.If you want breakthrough, you have to dig deep into your soul and nurture the stubbornness to do what is difficult in order to achieve new levels of greatness.That's going to hurt.

Ever felt like you are doing everything you should be doing, but it's still not working? That might be what you feel right now. It's something you've definitely felt before.All those online training courses you purchased from the internet guru who promised that you would turn your life around by copying the path that he took don't seem to be working as well as you saw them advertised when you purchase them.

It's not over until you say it's over. You're not finished until you decide you are through.The easy truth about hard choices is that you're the only one who gets to decide if you're successful or not.No matter what success looks like to you -- landing that perfect job, making a relationship work, or navigating a tricky corporate decision -- you determine if you get there or not.

Honesty isn't the best policy. Fixing your problems is.If you have a problem and know you need to change things, change them.Apologize when you screw up and improve.You don't need to share the gory drama of how your mistake was made or who did what. Just improve and move on.

It's your problem. No one else's. It's still going to be there if you don't fix it.Ignoring it doesn't make the situation any better. It just makes you look like an idiot.You know you have a problem. But you're hoping that if you pretend like everything is ok, your life will magically improve. But that's just complete buffoonery.

Regardless of the tools you use or the methodology you swear by -- don't overthink this idea of productivity and getting things done.If you can remember what to do, do it, and get better at doing more of it, you'll never struggle to find success.No matter how scary big your goals for yourself are right now.

It's hard to hear other people's criticism when you've given your best and it's still not enough. It's hard to get up early when you've worked late and slept very little.It's hard to smile and be compassionate when inside you are facing demons of your own.It's hard to think big when your inadequacies make you feel small.It's hard to lead others when you're looking for a leader yourself.

It's always about the communication. Not what happened. Not what was said. Or not said. Bad news doesn't get any better the longer you wait to tell it.So why is it that many business leaders fail so horribly at delivering clear, concise strategy and updates?Most leaders are afraid to admit it, but they're hoping the problem will go away on its own.

Stop doing things that don't matter to you. If you can't get passionate about what needs to be done or the reason while you're doing what you're doing, then you shouldn't be doing it at all.You're just wasting your time. Going through the motions.

If you wait until it's the perfect time to get started, you'll never get started.There is always more that you can learn. There will always be times when you feel inadequate and unprepared, scared, and cautious.That doesn't mean you should wait.It just means that what you're about to do is big and audacious -- with a huge reward on the other side of the battle.

What was in the water that the Laconians were drinking? They were Greeks like the rest of their countrymen. They knew the odds of losing a battle where they were outnumbered 100 to 1.The smart choice was to negotiate a favorable surrender. To surrender annual payments of gold and goods in exchange for keeping your life and some bit of humanity.You could live in your old house.

Without momentum you will always struggle to get to where you want to be. And without movement you can't build momentum.When you stop and start continuously -- chasing quick fixes and easy options to hard solutions -- you make your journey to success exponentially more difficult.

Awesome is a cumulative effect. It's not one thing you do. It's a little bit of everything, combined together.There's no one thing you can do to achieve it. And rarely any catastrophe big enough to undo it.It's a process. The result a thoughtful execution. And tireless discipline. A mastery of the details.Being awesome demands a different type of conversation. There's no room for passive aggression and small thinking.

What are you thinking about right now? What's been bothering you the last few days? Maybe it's something so personally scary and uncomfortable that you haven't been able to even say it out loud. You haven't had the courage to share it with anyone else.It's all inside your head. Bottled up.

There are many rules to business. There are many things you're told you "need to be doing" if you want to be successful. But despite all the complexity about getting business right, there are really only two rules -- two philosophies really -- that dictate success.It doesn't matter what you're selling.It doesn't matter what you're planning to do. It doesn't matter where you're at or the industry you are in.

I hadn’t run at all that week after I’d blown out my arch the previous Saturday running my first 10K (also with no training).About 3.5 miles in, far away from my usual stomping grounds, I finally felt the mental clouds lift, and I thought about turning back.But I kept pressing, knowing that if I quit now, I’d never forgive myself.

One of those days might have been the day you were supposed to win.Any one of those days could have been the moment when all of your frustration and hard work, patience, persistence, and passion combined together into glorious victory.And yet, because you didn't show up willing to win, you didn't experience what could have been the greatest day of your life.All because of one of those days.

Grit doesn't mean you stick it out -- stuck alongside negative people. Persistence doesn't mean you have to swim through the sludge of pessimism.Focus isn't blind. Discipline isn't stupid.The tough truth is that you know where you want to go.

At the heart of very shrewd business decision is this accounting of hope.The more hope you bring, the more likely it is that your idea or solution or product will win the day.It's not about numbers. It's not about savings. It's not really about profit, loss, growth, experience, or expertise.

It's painful to want more for yourself and remain unable to attain that which you feel so deeply about.Over time, it's natural to move towards safety in your decisions.Safe choices. Safe partners. Safe ideas. Safe business strategy.

You either have to deliberately create thirst for yourself or let life deliver it at the worst time in the worst possible ways.You have to be conscious (and deliberate) about staying inspired and focused or you are in for a rude awakening when life demands it from you when you're least prepared.Deny yourself the luxury of the status quo.

The problem you're solving isn't the real problem. Most likely. It's the problem you see. What is exposed on the surface.It is what is producing the discomfort and pain that you're feeling. But it's not the real problem.That's something different.

It's up to you whether you get to where you want to be. Everyone else already has their thing. Their journey. Their challenges. Their unique situation in life.It's on you to fight for you. It's on you to find the best mentors and friends. To keep your mind strong and make smart choices.You can have it all.

Halfway isn't far enough of the way. It's not good enough to try some of the time.You won't win if you're not willing to do whatever it takes to be successful.That applies to work. To your challenges in community and family, your personal health, friendships, and making lots of money.It's not good enough to almost do enough.

There are no miles of progress without inches of fight. The grit. The grind. That feeling of desperation and rage.That's the cost of getting to where you want to be. There are no easier paths. No faster way there.

Religion isn't (usually) seen as logical. It's emotional. Spiritual. And deeply personal. It's built on a foundation of beliefs.Beliefs that are wired into the very soul of the worshiper. Beliefs that are powerful.They change what you see and feel. They color the lens through which you see everything happening around you.

No one asks "how much does it cost" when it comes to being healed. If you're selling product, your client will want to compare prices. If you're in the business of healing people, you can charge whatever you want and prospects will gladly pay it.......

Don't look for the obvious answers. Look for opportunity. There's no money to be made in making something that is already good even better.Your best return-on-investment is to take something that is awful and make it magical.

Believe that despite your failures and screw-ups in the past you can achieve success if don't stop trying to get what you want.Believe that you need to do something different in you're life if you want something you have never had before.Believe that within you is enough heart and ability to do whatever needs to be done in order to get to where you want to be......

Through the valley you must pass if you wish to make it to the mountaintop. Before the dawn, there is the night.So it is with a steady hand and determined mind you must resolve each day that despite the fear and panic and fright you will not be detoured.You will not stop. You will not quit. You will continue.

The enemy is just as nervous as you are. Just as tired. Just as doubtful.He's waiting to see how you will appear.Hoping he has more to bring to the fight than you do. Clinging desperately to the chance that his last bit of stamina will be enough to overwhelm your fatigue and frustration.

Survival is all you think about. You want out. Away from the chaos of the moment.You're so focused on surviving that you don't plan to thrive.It doesn't take you doing much right now to change the arc of your results.

When you decide to give up. When you decide to stop believing.When you decide that it hurts too badly to keep moving forward.Those are your decisions. No one else's.No one is forcing you to quit. You're deciding that is what you want to do.The end of the road is just the place you decide to quit.

Your problems aren't going to go away that quickly. They're going to look worse before you start to feel better.Life is going to get tougher for you, even though you're working harder and trying more, pushing in ways you've never done before.In spite of all of that, you're going to have to soldier through more uncomfortable days. And sleepless nights.

How To Live When It’s Dead Easy To Die.Posted in:Mindset & Purpose-Ahead of him, Mertz turned around, hearing the same sound himself. It was the look on his face that shook Douglas to his core.
A gaping hole in the snowbridge showed a crevice 150 foot deep where a husky lay whimpering with a broken back. There was no other sign of their companion, Lieutenant Belgrave Ninnis, or the sledge.

You can achieve whatever you set your mind to do. But none of that happens if you don't know what it is you want.Before you do, you have to know.What you want might be so crazy you're not comfortable sharing it with anyone else.That's okay. The person who needs to know knows.

The truth about beating the odds and realizing breakthrough is that you have to agonize over the solution and work tirelessly trying new things until the big thing ends up looking like what you had in your mind all along.That's not easy. That's not cheap. That's not something you can hand off to anyone on your team, family, or circle of friends.

Smart technology is everywhere. If you're like most business people, you can't help but feel that there are too many tools out there. They all sound the same. Which leaves you confused, frustrated, and uninterested in changing.Let's cut through the clutter

You say you're committed. You say that you would do anything to get to where you want to be. But what about when that means changing something that's a secret little pleasure for you?In truth, there are endless distractions that distract you from what really matters.

Trust your gut instinct when it comes to making difficult decisions. You already know the right decision to make. Deep down, in that quiet spot in your soul where all is true and clear, you have the answer.And you need to trust your gut instinct. That immediate feeling you have when you're with that person or hearing that idea.

Go hard. Push hard. If you have an idea that matters to you -- an idea that mean something deeply to you -- then go for it.Push for it.Don't "float a trial balloon". Don't "run a beta test".Don't limp into action. Go hard. Push hard.

Let's talk one-on-one for a few minutes. I don't often write first person and I rarely share the inside secrets of the billion dollar companies that we support. After a conversation with a senior executive a few days ago I thought I would make an exception.Here is the big news -- my team and I have managed to do more business in 3 weeks than we did all last year. Seriously.

Progress requires pain. It hurts to move from where you are right now to where you want to be.The bigger the distance you need to go, the longer it's going to take you.The more effort you will need to exert. The more emotional baggage you will have to bear.

I wanted to run. But I got freaked out when I thought about how much it was going to hurt.In fact, when Sara asked me why I didn't want to go, I told her: "If I go, I have to win."Which was the craziest thing she had ever heard: "Why can't you just go and have fun? You're doing all of this training, go enjoy yourself."

There are those who tell you that they are legit because they walk the walk. They don't just talk the talk, they do what they promise. They practice what they preach.Make no mistake, doing is always better than talking.It's just not enough.

Being productive isn't necessarily about doing more work in the day. If you're not doing the hard work that success demands, you're fooling yourself if you think you're ever going to be successful.You've got to do the hard things if you want to enjoy the great things. It's as simple as that.

One of the overwhelmingly apparent habits of high achievers is their insatiable curiosity. They question everything. They don't just want an answer. They want the explanation behind the answer. They want the research behind the explanation behind the answer.They aren't satisfied to believe what other people tell them. They own their facts. They know what they believe. And why they believe it.

It's not what you do that matters so much. It's how you do what you're doing that matters.What you do is just a ticket to the game. How you do it is what makes you a superstar.It's easy to imagine that there is some missing thing out there you could start doing right now that would instantly catapult you past the tough obstacles in your path towards greatness.

Do a little research on the richest people in the world. You will notice that they all share one thing in common. Despite differences in the language they speak or the industry in which they made their wealth, where they live, how they live, or their core strategies for success -- they all enjoy reading.They don't just enjoy it.

Maybe what you think is right, isn't so right after all.Maybe you won't change because you're afraid you'll have been wrong this whole time.Whether it's a business strategy that needs to be updated or a character flaw that needs to be patched -- be willing to change.

Be the first to do the things that others make excuses to avoid doing. The annoying things. The frustrating things. The things that you don't want to do.Those are the things that everyone is struggling to do. Because they hurt.And so instead of doing those things -- and being wildly successful -- most people just make excuses. And never get unstuck.

You've probably had someone tell you before that you need to "keep your head on straight." You were frustrated, frazzled, or about ready to go into an arena where winning meant a lot to you.Keeping your head on straight? It conjures an uncanny image when you think about it.More importantly it communicates the importance of staying focused, positive, and hopeful.

It's natural to believe that you need some grand gesture in order to turn your life around. That you need to throw everything away and start fresh. Lots of hard work. Massive amounts of unbelievably focused energy.If you're only thinking big and quick, you're probably overlooking small and guaranteed options for long-term success.You're so busy hoping to find that one thing that will catapult you towards where you want to be that you're ignoring the smaller stepping stones that lead you there almost automatically

They only thing that separates you from that person you idolize is your attitude. Not money. Not education. Not your standing in society, friends you know, or how lucky your life becomes.Your attitude is what makes the difference.There are really only three different types of attitudes -- whiners, wimps, and winners.You're one of these right now.

Sometimes you work really, really hard and don't get the results that you are expecting. Sometimes you do what is right and still end up without any reward for your effort.Sometimes lazy people get lucky and bad people get what they want when beg.

You don't have to get all the way there. But you do have to get started moving that direction. The problem with accomplishing big goals is that you often allow yourself to be tricked into thinking that you need to apply massive amounts of effort over a short period of time in order to be successful.Steady progress is your greatest weapon.

The hard truth is that you won't do much today that you don't feel like doing. Despite how smart you are or the education you've acquired over the years, it's hard for you to do the right thing when you don't feel like it.

If you could have any future that you imagined, what would that look like for you?What skill are you missing that would have the greatest impact on you being successful?What are you not willing to do in order to make progress towards being successful?What do you know already that you can start implementing to improve your performance?What important tasks and skills do you find yourself procrastinating or avoid doing at all?.........

The lion doesn't kill because he's angry. The lion doesn't kill to prove that he's still got what it takes to be the king of the jungle.The lion doesn't stalk, hunt, chase, capture and devour his prey to look good, win friends, or feel better about himself.

It's usually the small things that make the most difference. It's the details that will likely determine your degree of success or failure.It's not going to be one big moment or one grand experience that automatically propels you from where you are to where you want to be.

You don't need to wait until next year to fix what's broken. Right now is a perfectly good opportunity to get started doing what needs to be done.The problem with just making resolutions at the beginning of each year is that they don't mean much until they've been tested. Until you've been tested.

There is never a better time to get started. It's hard to apologize when you make a mistake, learn from your critics (even when they're mean), or begin a new part of life that's scary and unpredictable.One of the biggest reasons you won't get started doing what needs to be done -- and change your life for the better -- is because you think you need something more than what you have right now.

They don’t rationalize or trivialize failure -- and stop themselves when they are tempted to make excuses.They have an off switch. They know how to enjoy the moment, relax, and enjoy what they have in their life already.They don't confuse their job with their identityThey are more interested in getting things done than they are in doing things that are easy.......

Where Greatness Is Found.Posted in:Uncategorized-Anyone can do what is easy. That’s why we call it easy. By definition, it is not hard to do. It’s easy. Comfortable. What comes naturally. Second nature. It doesn’t require much sweat or emotional agony. It’s just something that you do instinctively. And it won’t be what solves your problems. If there were an easy answer …

You might wear different clothes from your caveman forefathers and do different work, but you're still challenged by the same fears and primal needs.You don't want to lose. You don't want to look like you're losing .You don't want to die. You don't want to do things that feel like dying.What has changed over time is the dishonesty of solving those problems.

Most of the time, good ideas go stale simply because of a lack of energy. Smart people with experience just stop finding a reason to keep putting in the effort.That happens to all of us one time or another.You start out with good intentions and plenty of resolve, but get knocked around and quickly find yourself drained of inspiration and energy.

When things get tough and you need extraordinary help, who can you count on to stand by your side? Perhaps a better way to answer that question is to reflect on whose back you have. And what that means in reality.How far would you go to help someone in need? What are the requirements for earning your love and support?

If you can't go long, you won't go far. Great ambition demands great stamina, deep courage, and unparalleled resolve.You're going to have to endure hardship getting from where you are right now to where you want to be.Not the easy, fast, "will-be-over-in-a-minute" kind of hardship. The dull, throbbing ache of unmet expectations and confused fatigue.

Building momentum is the result of doing things that matter each day. Whether you feel like doing them or not. Whether it looks like they are working or not.Prepare for the long haul.Don't expect to be an overnight success story.That's not going to happen for you. It's going to take time.

It's not good enough to try again if you're not willing to keep trying until you figure it out. It's not good enough to get a degree if you're not committed to learning and getting better.It's not good enough to have ambition if you're willing to take shortcuts and hurt other pe

Instead of improving, evolving, and working to fix your future you would rather just blame other people, make excuses for where you are, and pretend like you are the world's biggest victim.Nothing happens to you. Life happens. You happen.If you don't like where you are, maybe you need to do something differently

Everything is a choice. You have limitless decisions. They range from the insane to the mundane.You get to decide when you get up in the morning and when you go to bed, if you go to the office and what time you leave to get there.You could walk or drive or run, skip, crawl, or hitchhike to work.....

You've been told to take the high road. To deal honestly with others. To bring class and dignity to your craft -- even at the expense of quick gains and self-serving manipulation.Make no mistake, the high road is a tough pathway to walk. While others get away with underhanded tactics, your code demands more from you. Your calling necessitates something different.Honor. Dignity. Honesty. And candor.

You can't get magnificent things done and make everyone happy at the same time. Not everyone is going to like you. Not everyone is going to give you a fair break, a second chance, or the benefit of the doubt.Even if you do everything right and have the best intentions, you're going to make people furious.

You have an idea in your head about what you want to do. You have a dream about where you want your life to end up.You have goals and aspirations and challenges to overcome.And then you turn around in the middle of your work and start to wonder if anything you're doing really matters.

In the Bible, there is a story about four friends who had a companion who was dying of an incurable disease. As his body became weaker and weaker, the four friends became more desperate to do something that would help him.They brought their friend to doctors and skilled surgeons -- but none of these physicians could do anything to stop the slowly creeping agony that was killing him.

Manage your money. -- Save more than you spend. Avoid debt. Live financially fit.Manage your momentum. -- Do one thing each day to get you closer to where you want to be.Manage your motivation. -- Stay away from negative people. Read more. Watch less TV.Manage your motion. -- Hire a coach. Gather mentors. Find ways to do the details better.Manage your modesty. -- Develop humility. Be the type of person others can reach out to.......

Possibility isn't a fact. It's someone's opinion. Whether you can accomplish big dreams or not isn't a guarantee. Either way.Just because it hasn't been done before doesn't mean that you won't be the first to do it.And just because someone else did it in the past doesn't mean that you'll be able to reproduce their success.Times change. People change. Your will to win ebbs and flows -- along with the balance in your bank account.

Obsess over the details. Don't be afraid to look like a fool while you get down on your hands and knees and dig through the mud for the solution to your problem.The truth about greatness is that it requires an unusual focus on steadfast improvement.You have to care about the things that other people don't care about.The details. The edge cases. The problems that others just excuse away as it being "good enough".

What you see is what you get. How you view life determines how successful you'll become.The truth about productivity and success is that your attitude determines your results.Before you even get started. Before you begin. Before you do the first thing. Before all of that, the outcome has already been decided.

The bigger your goals, the tougher it will be to achieve them. And while you already know that in your head, you're going to forget that along the way.When things get tough -- and you're not sure you can make it any further -- you start interpreting the obstacles in your way as warning signs that what you're doing isn't working.

They are the result of the rest of your days -- where nothing seems easy, inspired, or the least bit enjoyable.The days where you're not really sure it's worth it. The days where you're working hard and not seeing any results. The days where smart people tell you what you're doing isn't going to be successful.Those are the days you have to endure to get to the moments when everything feels right

What motivates you to do what you do? That's a hard question to answer.The truth is that it's not one thing. It's not even one thing for all of one day.Your environment drives your motivation. Your body, the people you are with, and what's going on around you all impact your motivation

The best help is the kind that stops a problem from happening in the first place. You're not really helpful when already frustrated customers have to fight to get your attention, time, and expertise.Ask yourself what you can do now to help those soon-to-be-frustrated customers with a better warning of the problems ahead, easier ways to prepare themselves, and educated alternatives to the solutions you're recommending..

You're working hard to avoid what really needs to be done.Which is a shame because if you're going to be tired and frustrated, confused, annoyed, and thoroughly beaten down at the end of the day it might as well be because you're doing something that matters.Taking the next step isn't as simple as it sounds. You might not know the exact next step to take.

Anyone can work hard each day.Real champions don't just work hard physically. They work hard emotionally.That demands you stay on top of your motivation.Inspired work comes from inspired people.If you want more for yourself and better results from the work that you do, spend time seeking inspiration desperately.

There's always more you can do. There's always more focus you can bring to managing your priorities.More effort you can bring to getting things done. More money you can invest in realizing your dream. More ways to win. More urgency. More intensity.You have it. It's inside you. And all around you.

If you want to be the best, you have to be better than the best. But how do you get better when you're already doing your best right now and there are other people better than you?You're already telling people that you're giving 110%. That you are "all in" all the way. You're committed, driven, and willing to do whatever it takes to achieve your goals and improve.

Don't whine about it. Don't cry about it. Figure it out. Just because you have a big problem doesn't mean that it's the end of the world.Everybody has problems.Everybody you meet today in every place you go has problems that are just as scary to them as your problems are to you.The hard truth about tough problem is that there aren't any easy answers.There isn't one thing you can do to magically make your problems go away.

Your greatest business challenge isn't that your dream prospects do business with your competitors instead of you. It's that they don't care about what you're doing in the first place.Your greatest personal challenge isn't that you achieve all your goals exactly when you think you should.It's that you care enough to set goals and work towards them in the first place.

You've collected unhealthy habits and mental head trash that is distorting your view of the universe and causing you to stay stuck -- in a horrible spot.The way to win is to fix what you think about. And like any other new habit, you're going to have to keep working at it until you get the results that you want.Think about being awesome. It will change the rest of your life.

You're going to try to accomplish you goal and come short.It's not life ending, career ending, or goal ending. Just a part of your evolution from where you are now to where you need to be.It's why we call it a journey. Not a destination.Which is why your mindset matters.

That other person that looks successful and is telling you they have all the answers probably can't help you the way you think they can. They don't have the answers to your problems.They might have a answer to a problem that they solved for themselves or someone else -- but there's no guarantee that your problem is something that they can fix.

Your worst performance doesn't need to define you. Just because you have failed in the past doesn't mean that you're always going to be a failure.Every moment you have is an opportunity to redefine who you are.

If you can't manage to get the details right you will never end up achieving the level of success you think you deserve. Big picture thinking is important.So is small picture doing.It's easy to brush away the details as something that you'll figure out later.

It's not enough to know what to do or how to do it. Winners just don't know how to win. They want to win.They want to win before they know how to win.They're not even sure they have the skills and talent to win, but they are absolutely sure they need to win.It's like oxygen. It's a necessity for life. Not a "nice" to have. It's a "need" to have. A primal urge. A longing wired into the very core of their being.

Practice doesn't make you perfect. It makes what you're practicing permanent. Working out doesn't automatically make you fit. It just means you've been working up a sweat.Practice is the performance.You need to read more. You need to make more time for learning. You need to hire a coach to push you beyond your limits.But most importantly, you need to practice being successful.

You're not disciplined because you do some of the things that need to be done. You're not disciplined because you do the same things each day.You're not disciplined because you get up on time, go to work on time, or get things done on time.The hard truth about discipline is that repetition isn't the same as practice, excellence, and focused determination.

Every solution works some of the time. And at the worst possible time, even the best solutions fail to give you the results that you expect.So what are you supposed to do when the obvious answer isn't always the winning answer? What are you supposed to do when even the best ideas and winning strategies from the past don't seem to be effective anymore?

One of the most hopeless feelings in the world is feeling lost. That sense that you've lost your way. Going somewhere but not sure where or why or if you actually want to be where you end up.If you aren't there right now, you're guaranteed to be there soon. It's a challenge that plagues all of us.

Ideas don't really matter. That you have them is a good sign.It means that you're alive and somewhat alert and perhaps wildly brilliant.But the idea of having ideas isn't all that spectacular.So you should stop being shocked when other people don't take your ideas all that seriously.

What you want is out there for the taking. But you might be missing it because you're overwhelmed by negativity.You're looking for trouble before it ever arrives. You're looking for drama, chaos, and deceit before it exists.You think you're doing yourself a favor. But you're really robbing yourself of opportunity and momentum.It's all there. You're just looking for the wrong thing.

From the outside looking in it might appear that you're not as strong as you need to be. Those side to side movement seem indecisive. Stepping back appears to be a sign of weakness.One of the biggest mistakes you can ever make in attempting to achieve audacious goals is to assume that the only acceptable movement towards success is moving forwards.

That's what winners do. They don't whine and complain about life being unfair. They don't let other people's small-minded thinking break their determination and drain their spirit.Winners don't expect to achieve success because they are hoping the contest will got easier.They expect to win because they are unrelenting in developing the right muscles and mindset to overcoming the obstacles they expect to be in their way.

You don't succeed because you don't think you can.When you don't think you can, you don't try as hard as you need to.When you don't try hard enough you don't get the results that you want.When you don't get the results you want, you reinforce the idea that you don't think you can.

Don't ask what you need to do in order to stay motivated. Don't wonder what's missing when you can't find the inspiration to do the hard things.The hard truth about finding inspiration is that if your goal is big enough and meaningful enough, you'll stay motivated.

Success demands urgency. You'll never get to where you want to be if you're not just passionate about what you do and driven to improve.But such intensity needs time for reflection, focus, and thought.If you find yourself frustrated by what is happening around you or to you, if you're not sure what to do next or if you should even continue doing what you're doing at all, if you're feeling broken or beat down, it's time to stop.

If you stop doing the right thing before it starts working, you've done the wrong thing. But what do you do when the right thing feels wrong? Or worse, boring?How do you endure the monotony of the daily grind, doing what needs to be done, without seeing much progress or finding inspiration from the details you're forced to endure?

Effective leaders make people feel loved. They're not just intelligent. Not just experienced. Not just driven, candid, inspiring and visionary.They love people. They heal people. The people that work for them know that what they do is noticed.They aren't just a number on the spreadsheet.

You don't have to shout to be heard. There will be few times as a leader where you will need to stand in front of your team and inspire them to battle on in spite of terrific odds.Those times will be rare.Your true test as a leader is to inspire greatness when mediocrity is acceptable.

You can be anything you want to be as long as you are willing to be something different than you are right now. You can't be better and still do the same mediocre activities that make you good enough right now.You can't evolve, expand, and take your game to the next level if you're not willing to dramatically change what you do.

You'll never be the best at whatever you want to achieve until you learn how to lose with skill. Not happiness. Not complacency. Not excuses, blaming others, or a fatalistic sense of negativity.Skill. The skill of learning from your mistakes. The skill of dogged determination. The skill of developing creativity.Achieving success is mostly dependent on what you're willing to do to get to where you want to be.

Anything you want in life can be achieved with enough hard work. It doesn't matter what your goal is, the resources you have, or what odds are stacked against you, hard work levels the playing field.It makes heroes out of ordinary grinders. It catapults the diligent ahead of the intellectual.

Now is the time to take that risk. Now is the time to move -- to step out of your comfort zone.Now is the time to do that thing you've always wanted to do. Now is the time to make your dream a reality.Now is the time for you to break free of the emotions that hold you back from greatness.Now is the time for you to repair the relationships with loved ones that are invaluable to your soul.....

Make a list. Write it down. Type it. Dictate it. Whatever you do, don't forget to remember it.Innovation can come from the most unlikely of observations. Breakthrough often comes when you're least prepared to consider it.Which means you need to get in the practice of writing down your thoughts

"You need to do what scares you." You have heard that before. It's an easy-to-throw-around motivational phrase -- if it's scary, it must be good. If it's scary, it must be something you need in your life.It's that missing thing. That radical idea that will propel you past the obstacles in your way towards success.If you just do what scares you, you'll fix your money problems and your business problems, be more happy, healthy, and inspired.

Winners refuse to go through the motions on anything they're doing right now that isn't helping them get to where they want to be. When you realize something is a waste of time cut it off completely, immediately.

Winners expect a lot from themselves and are careful to put only the best fuel into their bodies. Go home and throw in your trash can all the unhealthy, sugary food that makes you think slow and act sluggishly.......

Avoid the easy path. It's already crowded with everyone else hoping to achieve success by doing what comes without an extraordinary investment of effort, emotion, and personal investment.By the way, the quick idea or sure thing isn't new to you.

You don't rank employees. You rank winners. Every podium stand only has three levels, third place, second place, and the overall winner.Unless you're building a company with just three employees it's a waste of your time and horribly counterproductive to review your employees by ranking them.Review them. And do it regularly. Rate them. And teach them how to improve.

"It's just business - not personal." "We had to make a decision. Don't take it personally."Ever heard that before? Ever been told that you shouldn't get upset over a disappointing decision because it wasn't "personal"?Somehow you're overreacting. Overly emotional. Broken. Flawed. Wasting your time on hurt feelings and righteous outrage.You're supposed to get over it.

It doesn't matter what ideas you have. Everyone has ideas. Everyone. That guy you think is really brilliant, he has ideas. That guy you can't stand, he has ideas too.The crazy thing about ideas is that they don't really matter.

Spend time not just on doing better but on being better.Fire negative people and destroy passive aggressive activity wherever you find it in your organization.Apologize when you do something wrong and be clear with everyone around you about your expectations for them.

Don't say you "can't do it". Say that you don't "want to do it". Say that "you don't feel like it".Say that in order to do it your life is going to be so painful that you can't imagine the prospect of going through something so terrible.

Expecting your team to work, care, or think harder than you do. You set the tone.Not spending enough time getting to know what motivates senior management. You'll struggle to hit their mark.Hiring team members who have more experience than passion. You'll never get the results you expect.Assuming that everyone around you knows what you expect them to achieve. You'll see lots of things slip through the cracks.

You don't need to hear everyone else's opinions about success in order to be successful yourself. You don't need to read business books. You don't need to go to college and graduate, get a degree or an MBA.You don't need to go to seminars or go buy another copy of the Wall Street Journal.

Sometimes you're doing everything right and still not getting the results you expect. You're doing the work, you're sticking to the plan, you're improving, preparing, brutally honest about expected outcomes -- but all your hard work doesn't seem to be working.You're not building up momentum. You're not making enough money.......

BEFORE Michael Dell was the billionaire founder of Dell Inc., he washed dishes at a Chinese restaurant and then bussed table at a Mexican restaurant to get some cash. BEFORE Tim Cook was the CEO of Apple, he delivered newspapers as a young boy in his Alabama hometown. He also worked at a paper mill and an aluminum plant.

If you're not tired, you're not working hard enough. And if you are working hard enough, your brain is tired.How you feel, how quickly you figure things out, how you interpret what happens to you -- that is all computed, calculated, and configured by your brain.

Be amazing. Not just better than those around you. Not just good enough to get by.Amazing. Mind-blowingly awesome.You have to aim for something, so you might as well pick something legendary.You have to have a goal, so you might as well pick one that is big enough to change the world.

If you're determined to continue then you have everything you need. Soul power.The worst time to try to find that power is when you need it most -- when you're backed against a corner and struggling for air.The time to get tough is now.

We're all going through something. You. Me. Everyone you know, meet, or work with -- today or any day. You might be struggling with your health or money or addiction and the person next to you might be struggling with how to keep their marriage together, which business options to pursue, or what to do when they feel stuck.

You'll figure out how to work smarter later -- after you've put in enough effort. Right now, your mission is to fortify your soul for the brutal effort that's success demands.If your life isn't working out the way you want it to be, you're not working hard enough. Or for long enough.If you want it bad enough, you'll do whatever it takes for as long as it takes.You need to remind yourself of that every day. Then roll up your sleeves and get back to work.

You don't have to waste your life doing just enough for things to be OK. You don't need to stay stuck at a job just because it pays your mortgage.You don't have to back down just because someone else thinks your ideas aren't worth pursuing.You don't have to stay on the ground just because life pushed you down.You don't have to agree with the crowd so your life gets a little bit easier.

If you can't manage your money, you'll never be successful in getting to where you want to be.The reality of life is that achieving success most often demands you being able to handle money smartly.There are services that you can't beg, steal or borrow. You have to pay for them. And as the old adage goes: "You get what you pay for."If you're not good with money, you're going to fail.

Be honest with yourself about the quality of your effort, the motivation for your work, and the consequences of your results. Don't let other people's lazy ideas and small-minded thinking stop you from working hard -- even when it seems like everyone else has it easier.Force yourself into scary situations where it seems like failure or getting hurt is the only likely outcome.....

You don't have to be perfect to be awesome. You don't even have to be right most of the time. But you can't make excuses for what you do -- and you can't avoid working incredibly hard. Being awesome -- no matter how you define that right now -- is the result of tenacity, focus, and irrational belligerence.

Think your dreams are as important as drumsticks and breading?Success demands that you try an absurd number of times.That's the formula.To be awesome you have to keep trying. Until it hurts. And then a whole lot more.Every day -- until you end up where you want to be.

Stop whining because you have problems in your life that you weren't expecting. Stop whining because it's harder to get to where you want to be than you thought it would be.Stop whining because you're tired of working, trying, and doing what it takes.Stop whining because other people don't understand what makes you tick.Stop whining because you don't have enough money, time, or friends.

Think that you can't dig your way out of debt? You're right. Think that saving pennies leads to financial success? You're right.Think that you don't have enough skills to win that promotion? You're right. Think that you'll work hard enough to figure it out? You're right.Think that you're never going to lose that weight? You're right.

Never stop believing that you are an exception to the rules that apply to everyone else. You can beat sickness. You can dig your way out of debt. You can pass that test, win that race, get promoted, make more money, and live the life of your dreams.Whatever you want, you can have -- as long as you never give up.

One minute I was flying down the trail -- the next I was airborne spinning head over heels. The tip of my left shoe snagged the edge of a root , somersaulting me through the air.It took me a few seconds to realize what happened.The impact of of an expected crash landing took my breath away.

Maybe you should be more intense about the direction your life is leading. Maybe you should be working harder than you are right now.Maybe you should care a little less about what other people think about you.Maybe you should reconsider your priorities and do what matters most more of the time.Maybe you should stop pretending that you have it all figured out and learn something new for a change.

No news isn't good news. It's the worst news of all. Uncertainty will destroy your momentum, cripple your health, derail your ambition, and make your life miserable.Not knowing what to do or what is happening -- while what you love hangs in the balance -- is an ugly, fearful position to be in.

There is no fast track to achieving amazing goals. Anything life-changing is going to take you most of your life to achieve.What is fast, proven, guaranteed to work, or quick is a recipe for mediocrity.Making money fast is a scam. Earning more while doing less is ridiculously absurd. Changing the world without pain and personal loss is impossible.

You are more in control of your destiny then it often feels to you at the time. Sometimes you're in a situation where your peers or boss are hard to get along with -- overbearing, arrogant, and abrasive.You feel stuck because even though you don't like how you feel working there you don't have the courage to leave your job to go find a different position.

The only thing you can't do is what you're not possessed by a purpose to get done. You can do anything as long as you want it bad enough. It's probably not going to be easy.You might not be able to achieve your goals right away. It might take you an entire lifetime to do what you want to do.You can achieve anything as long as you're willing to be consumed with enough desire, purpose, and intensity.

It hurts to attempt a big dream and fail miserably. It hurts to invest in new relationships that don't work out.It's uncomfortable to lose weight, save money, quit your job, ask for help, or do countless other things that would lead to break through in your life right now.And being uncomfortable isn't even in the same category as experiencing tragedy. That's a whole new level of suffering

Great conquest demands humility. You won't conquer the world until you can keep your ego under control.The truth about success is that you're going to have to do quite a few uncomfortable things that prideful people just won't consider doing.To win against the best you're going to have to be humble in your planning, honest in your execution, and demanding in your attempt the next time around.

If you find yourself struggling to get ahead, it's probably because you spent too much time chasing what is new instead of what is valuable. If you find yourself struggling with relationships maybe it's because you run to build new ones instead of "working it out" when the old ones show signs of stress.

We can't be friends anymore. In fact, I'm not sure we've ever been friends. You keep telling me that you want to "keep my feet on the ground." But that's not where I want to be.I want to soar. I want to climb. I want to rise above the obstacle standing in my way. And I can't do that stuck in the muck of your negativity.I don't want you to try to bring me down -- for whatever reason you might give me.

It's your duty to rise higher than other people's expectations for yourself. It's your duty to go the extra mile in pursuit of a better future.It's your duty to get back up when life is knocks you down.It's your duty to move past the obstacles standing between you and success.It's your duty to learn from your mistakes and do better the next time you try.It's your duty to push yourself harder than is comfortable or convenient.

The truth about celebrations and memorials is that you often wait too long to start planning to be amazing.You stop and start and stop again -- all before what could have been awesome is truly awesome.Instead you make excuses and celebrate half successes. You enshrine anything that is slightly better than mediocre.

Just “trying things” is a huge waste of your money and time. -- Every idea/company is different. Just because an idea worked for someone else doesn’t mean that it will work for you. Trying things without a strategy is a waste of time and money.

There are no lucky breaks or guaranteed roadmaps to get you to where you want to beThe only guarantee you get is the one you earn for yourself.You have to be willing to do whatever it takes until you get what you want. That's it.You have to earn every inch of getting to where you want to be. Sometimes you have to earn those inches back twice or three times.

f you want to start thinking differently, you need to start surrounding yourself with people who act differently. If you want to get outside the box that is limiting your ability to be amazing then you need to throw away the the excuses you're holding onto right now.It's easy to say you want to be better. That you want to fix your problems. That you deserve more from your life than what you're getting right now.

Focus less on automated technology and more on empathy -- Instead of using lead scores to drive engagement develop a training system focused on solving expected problems for industry veterans.Invest in tools that help you work harder -- Instead of focusing on working smarter, focus on scale and effectiveness across the entire enterprise

What if you spend all day today doing things that don't have a point? And then do that again tomorrow and the day after that?And what if you spend your whole life not thinking to do things that have meaning and purpose to you?You might call that a tragic waste of a magnificent opportunity.

You've often heard that "anything worth doing is worth doing right". And while that is certainly easy to agree with, doing it is another story. It's a lesson in earning.Earning what you want from life is about doing the hard things that you naturally make excuses to avoid doing.Earning more from life means you have to put in more effort. More agony. More of yourself. It's not a ritual.

Change doesn't happen until you ask hard, uncomfortable questions of yourself. Success doesn't happen until you drive past the excuses holding you back and dig in to the underlying issues that drive your behavior.You're still stuck because you're not being tough enough on yourself.

Anyone can try hard while the sun is shining brightly, but to toil through the night when no one is watching or rewarding your efforts -- that's when you're serious.If it's easier to lose your dream than lose sleep it wasn't a dream in the first place.It was just wishful thinking.

If your goal is important enough, you'll stay motivated long enough to see it through. That's the hard truth about inspiration. It's the one thing you lose just after you stop looking for it.When your goals aren't important enough -- when they don't really matter all that much to you -- you struggle to stay motivated long enough to see them through.

You don't have less of what you need to be awesome than anyone else. You don't have less of a chance to change the world because you have less money in your bank account, fewer friends with power, and not enough resources to finish what you start.

Dealing with frustration and setbacks is a big part of you ever being successful.The truth is that successful people have the same problems as everyone else.They experience heartache like you do. They have setbacks in their life. They experience financial loss and unexpected emergencies.

Feeling stuck is one of the most frustrating emotions you can ever endure. Part hopelessness, part fatigue -- being stuck is just about as miserable a situation as you will ever find yourself.If you're not in that place right now then you've been there sometime in the past. You know how frustrating it is when you're looking for answers and can't seem to find the answers you so desperately want.

You can't experience greatness without enduring suffering. You can't win without first losing. That's the painful irony of success.The more you avoid failure the more difficult it is for you to achieve the change you want for yourself. The more you do to avoid pain and suffering, the more likely you are to remain feeling helpless.

If you aren't doing what needs to be done, you will never get to where you want to be. If you aren't focused on the most important thing that you need to be doing this very moment, you've wasted your opportunity for greatness.Like you were in a dream and it wasn't real life.

How you leave other people feeling is exactly the measure of the experience you have created. Your customers don't "get you wrong" or "just don't understand". Service and experience aren't logical. They are deeply emotional -- interpreted by the ever-changing perspectives of the different people you were targeting.

Fear will destroy every good thing you want for yourself. It will cripple your ambition, paralyze your energy, and destroy your confidence.When you're held by the clutches of fear, your vision is warped. You stop seeing good things and only notice the evil in the world around you.

What shows up on the outside is a direct result of the conversation you're having with yourself on the inside.Too often it's easy to account for poor results and lousy conclusions as being related to external situation.It's natural to point the finger at all the obstacles in your way and make the case that you could have done better if you didn't have so much opposition to forward progress.

You have to be accountable, ambitious, and manically consistent.Don't complain about how life treats you when you don't have a plan for running your life. Don't expect to get ahead when you're content to just get paid a salary to help somebody else get to where they want to be.

The most inspired words you will ever speak aren't words at all. They are actions. What you've done. How you have behaved.The truth about leading others and inspiring change from those around you is that speeches only last while the energy of the moment is high right now.It takes a legacy of hard work and tireless execution to keep the conversation going.

Business life is full of complexity. We often like to imagine that problems can be solved with the same series of steps that can be repeated successfully the same way over and over again.The harsh reality is that most of those solutions just don't work.

No matter what success means to you -- making more money, being in love, raising great kids, or getting promoted -- it's going to take you massive amounts of effort and focus in order to achieve the results you want for yourself.

There are few factors more limiting in your pursuit of success than money. If you don't have enough to fuel your dreams, they will sputter out and die. That's one of the "hard truths" we all have to learn (and sometimes re-learn in life).

Your haters will always shout louder and longer than anyone else with an opinion. They don't need facts to tell you what to do. They don't even need a good reason.Haters hate.They spew their angry opinions and shortsighted insights at anyone who dares stand up to their bullying ways

Nothing you do once really works. You might get good results from that one time, but you didn't really change anything.Success demand progress. And progress comes from momentum. That momentum is carved out of the bedrock of consistent effort.So while trying is important, it's probably not going to change much for you right now.

Great leaders usually have radical views about the world around them. They don't just see the world differently from everyone else, they are driven by a set of core beliefs that empower them to take advantage of opportunities that others just bemoan as problems.

I took a few weeks off from filming new episodes of The EDGY Perspective because I've been non-stop traveling. But we're back and coming out swinging.Politicians get a lot of bad rap for “playing politics”--for saying a lot without saying anything.

Spending time in the pain cave isn't just for running ultramarathons. It's happens in business and family situations, school, your community, and a lot of other places you happen to be.Your pain cave is different than everyone else. The intensity of what you feel and the emotions that cascade around you are different -- but what isn't different is that we all get there.The truth about life and success and doing what is hard is that without pain there is no progress. If you don't hurt doing what you're doing right now then you're not working on something that will end up with extraordinary results.

It doesn't matter that you're not a hard worker until you realize that you haven't developed the right experience and skills -- because you haven't been willing to do what is hard or uncomfortable. It doesn't matter that you're a jerk to those around you until you can't get promoted or land a new job because no one wants to be within a thousand yards of you, much less give you a testimonial.

Anybody can be average. In fact, that's pretty much the definition of ordinary. The status quo. What everybody else is doing.A job that pays you enough to buy a house, a car, and enough pleasantries to pretend like your future might be awesome.

The internet is full of people offering "groundbreaking" courses on how you can get rich. There are plans and processes and programs for "anyone and everyone" that allow you to work from home, make more money than you can spend, and live the life of your dreams.

You can't be awesome if you don't have pain and frustration in your life. If you aren't angry about where you are in life -- the obstacles in your way -- you won't ever achieve the success you want for yourself. Progress comes from pain. Momentum comes from the will to win.

Winners don’t make excuses for their mistakes. They learn and grow.Winners don’t whine when things don’t go their way. They figure it out anyway.Winners don’t copy what other people are doing to be successful. They do their own thing.Winners don’t stay down on the ground when they fail. They come back stronger.Winners don’t shirk doing the hard work that success demands. They sweat, fight, and bleed.

The truth about success is that your dream is only as good as you are willing to protect it. No one else cares about what you want to do more than you should.No one is willing to sacrifice more for you to be successful than you are.

You are what you did. What you become and what you achieve are solely the result of what you did in the past and what you choose to do right now.No amount of lucky breaks or fortuitous coincidence can fix what you're breaking right now with your poor choices.

They call it “The Shot” -- one of the greatest clutch plays from the greatest competitor to play the game of basketball. It was Game 5 of the first round of the 1989 NBA playoffs -- Michael Jordan shooting one of the most memorable buzzer beaters in the history of the NBA playoffs.

We started The EDGY Perspective with a simple goal: bring you even more inspiration. It took us over a year and thousands of agonizing hours to figure out the best way to do that.We've spent the past two months launching new episodes every week. Along the way, we've gotten our own "EDGY perspective" on Ferguson, negativity -- and the idiocy of A/B testing.

If you're not good at playing politics you'll find yourself frustrated and angry because of how ineffective you are. Your good ideas don't get listened to. Your good plans don't get taken seriously. Your good intentions and hard work ethic never seem to get the attention they deserve.

Unless you're willing to learn, it doesn't really matter what lessons life is trying to teach you. Unless you're committed to working hard, no amount of talent or experience will help you be more successful.

You're probably reading this because you had the same question that we did: why have thousands of ordinary people succeeded against all odds when other people, just like them, fail? It's a question we've spent 4 years and thousands of hours studying and agonizing over. But it's a simple answer:

It isn't easy to sound foolish. It isn't easy to keep working long after those around you tell you it's unsafe and unhealthy. It isn't easy to stay focused when everyone else around you is telling you that "it will never work".

It's hard to have tough conversations. That's why we call them "tough". The kind where you crinkle your eyes and tip your head to the side. The kind where you can't even look the other person in the eye.

Life is full of options. You can choose almost anything, at any time. From what you eat to where you work to when you brush your teeth -- you have almost infinite options. You can substitute what you don't like for something that you do like.

Don’t Be Dumb. [EPTV]Posted in:Uncategorized-Our parents taught us to avoid doing dumb things in life—touching a hot stove, crossing the street without looking both ways, taking candy from a stranger—but who took us by the hand and told us dumb business mistakes to avoid? Millions of people are making dumb business mistakes. And they don’t even realize it. “Experts” tell you that …

If you always seem to have it all figured out, watch out. Be prepared for a life of mediocrity. The tough truth about success is that it's a struggle. It's a daily fight. It's a battle against confusion, irritation, and the fear of never figuring it out.

A lot of problems in life are simply communication problems. People get broken because they can't have the right conversation with somebody who hurt them in the past.Companies get broken because they can't say something that's truly meaningful to the marketplace.

Apply that to your life. If you lose a girlfriend, ruin a business deal, wreck your car, or even scuff up your new wingtips, think, "do I want people rubbing this failure in my face?" So don't make other people feel that way. Negativity never wins the race.

They're the "Eeyore" in your life. And that's a huge problem because the battle for success is a battle for your own mind. And nothing will destroy you faster than negativity—whether it comes from those around you or your own negative thoughts.

If you want to accomplish your dreams, avoiding disaster isn't good enough. And being good isn't great enough. Even being great isn't the same as being awesome. And being awesome isn't easy. In fact, achieving awesome is close to impossible.

Good people do awesome things. So do bad people sometimes. Which is a reminder that what really matters is execution. Effort. Enthusiasm. Energy.There are already people out there who want what you have to offer them. Your eager clientele is already ready to do business with you.

The truth about success is that it usually comes in ways that you least expect it.You know where you want to go, but getting there will require a path that you can't anticipate right now. Which is why it just makes sense to just get started.There's a beauty in beginning things. Just taking the first step. Just getting up from where you are and deciding that you're going to start heading toward where you want to be.

We took some of the top questions on Quora.com, questions that you've already asked us, to give you a peek behind the curtain of what it really takes to be successful. Questions on money and the handful of "skills" you need for your entire life that will guarantee amazingness.

Having more money doesn't mean you are better prepared to fall in love. Earning a new certification doesn't make you better qualified for a promotion. Moving to a new company doesn't mean you're not going to face the same challenges you face in your old one.

You can't sleep when you're dead. You can't get healthy, lose weight, spend more time with the people you love, or pursue your dreams with a passion. When you're dead, you're dead. What you didn't get done, won't ever get done.

Your best chance at outrageous success is to just get as far away as possible from people like this. Avoid negative people like your life depends upon it. It actually does.Don't waste time trading critical sentiments. Don't spend time convincing them that they have you all wrong. Don't try to reason with them or whine or make them see the error of their ways.

Being motivated isn't you feeling happy or excited.It's not "fluff" or unrealistic goal setting. Being motivated is a fire that burns deep in your soul. It's the oxygen that fills your lungs and keep you from drowning. It's not an optional asset to life -- it's the essence of life itself.

You can't find one person in all of history who successfully accomplished whatever they were trying to do the first time, every time. You can't. That person does not exist.So a large part of the discussion around success involves what to do when you get knocked down.

What if the bad habits you are tolerating in your life right now cripple your ability to be amazing in the future? What if this is the last moment you will ever have to accomplish your dream and you're wasting it?

Do you know why it's so difficult to convince teenagers that smoking will kill them? Because they're not 70 years old, bent over a sink, hacking their lungs out -- trying to catch one more breath. Just because a bad decision doesn't lead to bad results right away doesn't mean it wasn't a bad decision in the first place.

There are days as a leader when you just feel stuck. The situation in front of you isn't necessarily bad or uncomfortable, but you still feel like there is no clear path to get to where you want to be.

No one can take that from you, but it's all too easy to give up your rights. It's easy to think that by copying someone else's journey or mimicking someone else's actions that your path to greatness will be that much more guaranteed.

Maybe you're one of the majority of people who have or will quit their New Years resolutions by the end of next Friday. Don't be. Change how you think about resolutions. Over the past several years, it's become increasingly trendy to choose three words to define who you'll be that year.

A few more smiles each day will transform your life. It's hard not to feel empowered when you're smiling. You can't not feel confident and prepared, focused and creative when you're around people who are smiling back at you.

You can't see around the business problems in your way right now; and so, you stay stuck -- holding onto your title and business silo like defense positions, instead of a periscopes with which to view the future.

Ever wonder how you can spend hours, weeks, months -- even years -- agonizing over your marketing message and the tools you use to deliver that message only to get little response from the audience you are targeting?

Why You Aren’t Getting It Right, Right Now.Posted in:Uncategorized-If success isn’t the only option you can afford right now, you’re probably going to fail. You might think you need more options than what you have right now. You might want more options than those you have right now. But more options means less urgency. Less intensity. Less reason to get it right, right now. Desperation …

You have to get out of bed in the morning and go to battle even when you're already fatigued from the day before. You have to rally your team and make hard changes even when not everyone understands "why" right now.

You'll never achieve epic business success without being able to master the art of saying "NO". Running from trouble is a recipe for career disaster. Pretending like problems don't exist is a fast path to corporate ruin.

For the past year, we've been agonizing over the best way to give you the mindset of champions. We want this year to be your best year ever. Yes, we've got the EDGY Conversations book and this blog, but we spent months obsessing about what we could do that was bigger and better.

It's going to get brutal before it gets beautiful. You're going to cry, fight, sweat, and bleed. It's going to seem some days that the sun isn't ever going to come out again. And you're going to have to stand there quietly in the darkness by yourself choking back the tears, pretending that you believe it's all going to work out in the end.

What You Need To Know About Success.Posted in:Uncategorized-Success is primal. It’s not philosophical. It’s not meta-physical. It is often unexplained and usually unexpected. It’s a sport built by cavemen. Achievable by any man. You can’t make someone else want to be successful. They have to want it for themselves. You can’t create a process that automatically yields amazing results without the pain of …

Make resolutions or not just don't pretend like you want to achieve success when you're not acting like it. This time of year you're feeling the pressure to examine your life and challenge yourself to improve in the months ahead.

Before you make new resolutions, decide what you really want for yourself. Before you make new resolutions, think about what you are willing to give up to achieve success.Before you make new resolutions, make friends with people who can push you further.

Her chocolates are the definition of EDGY. She and her crack team of chocolatiers spend fourdays making a single bon bon (including airbrushing them). You want to talk about dedication to your product?

It doesn't matter what the obstacle, challenge, or opportunity might be at the moment. It's your fault. Which means that you are in complete control of the situation. You are completely capable of fixing whatever you think is broken. There isn't any problem so daunting that you aren't able to turn things around. You're entirely in control of where you want to go.

Especially when you feel wronged. Especially when you feel like you don't deserve what you're going through right now.Instead of healing, you hold on to grudges. You fight for immediate justice instead of long term rewards.

I won't give up on my marriage. I won't stop fighting to be a better version of me. I won't complain, be a cynic, point the finger at other people for my own mistakes, or pretend like the universe is out of my control.

We've talked to friends. Read some books about the subject. Used Google to figure out what we're doing wrong. Nothing seemed to be working at all. Doing anything with an adorable 2-year-old who isn't potty trained makes anything about 50,000 times more stressful.

Push past easy or quick to find answers that truly get you closer to where you want to be in the long run.And, if you decide to go running at 4 AM for 50 miles, you definitely should bring some water with you.

What are the top five things you know you need to do right now that you been avoiding? Who is the one person in your life you need to build a better relationship with right now? How much money do you need to set aside right now for your safety net so that you can live the life of your dreams?

That's because your attitude drives the decisions that you make.Whether you realize it or not, your perspective on life enables you to either create hopeful outcomes from negative situations or to spot the one wrong thing i

The Days We Cry.Posted in:Uncategorized-I was sitting on the grass in my backyard watching my mother water the garden. I was a teenager at the time — just returned from spending most of the summer in Mexico doing missionary work. I was part of a team who passed out rice and beans and Bibles to poor people in Mexico. That was …

You have to get angry before you can get even. You have to be outraged before you can rise to a new level of success.You have to burn with intensity, ambition, and holy passion for getting to where you want to be.It's not a dream. It's not a goal. It's not even an obsession.

If you haven't figured it out already, you're about to get a rude awakening when you realize that life isn't fair. Good people who do good things sometimes get taken advantage of. Bad people with evil intentions sometimes look like they are untouchable.

It's all too easy to look back on the glory days and mimic those activities, hoping that what used to work will accidentally yield success all over again. And it rarely does because doing the wrong thing doesn't lead to awesome outcomes.

Being around negative people will suck the life out of your dreams. Instead of leaving those people feeling motivated, you'll leave feeling angry. Instead of wanting to push your own limits and achieve more, you'll find yourself depressed wallowing in self doubt and looking for revenge.

It's easy to have strong opinions about someone else's situation until you're in that situation yourself. It's easy to judge what someone else is doing how they are reacting to the situation they're in at the moment when you don't have to be in that situation yourself.

I love me some Uber. It's actually rather genius with a push of a button on my smartphone I can summon a black car to my exact location. No need to stand on the corner of the street and flag down a taxi while competing against a dozen other busy executives. No need to worry about cash because my credit card is already on file. It's automatically handled.

The only thing you can't do is what you're not willing to do. The only thing you can't achieve is the thing you're not willing to get started on right now.The only thing holding you back from success and greatness and grandeur is your willingness to do what is hard and messy and uncomfortable.

Being an artist demands emotional courage. A lot of it. Whether you are painting a picture developing a new sales plan or just trying to figure out what color to paint your child's bedroom, figuring out what you want to do can be a hard decision to make especially if you have a few choices that all seem interesting.

I’d like to think that you’re so swamped with your day-to-day work that you just can't keep up with the massive flood of emails coming in from people clamoring for your awesome product. Either that or you’re just too arrogant to bother with me (or too stupid to know that we're an easy sale).

To be successful in business, you need to understand key information. You need to be able to create a strategy, monitor and measure your progress, and make corrections to your tactics based on the results you're getting.

They might have more money, more university degrees, more time, insight, brain power, or friends than you. But what they don't have is what you only have the will to win. The drive to keep going. The desire to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes.

Losing flat out stinks. Whether you are playing cards, chasing a beautiful woman, or trying to close an impossible business deal being rejected is disappointing, frustrating, and completely maddening all the same time.

What No One Tells You About Deciding What’s Right To Do.Posted in:Uncategorized-Despite what you might automatically accept as true — most of life isn’t black-or-white. The decisions you have to make on a daily basis are mostly shades of grey. You might think you believe that murder is wrong and that you would never take someone else’s life, but you will probably find your opinion changed if …

Two months ago today, I laced up a beat-up, old pair of Nikes and ran 1.76 miles, my first concerted attempt at regular exercise in two years. Despite playing volleyball on Tuesdays, I knew I needed to get more exercise. Since I’m too cheap to pay for a gym membership, running was really my only option.

Making money is an important part of staying in business. It's a big part of being successful. It's the lubrication that allows you to move through life with the least amount of friction. It's not everything but the more you have, the more it allows you to do just about anything. Go anywhere. Experience things that you could have never imagined possible before.

That's because it's not about the strategy. It's about the execution. The effort. The emphasis on details. The commitment to doing what needs to be done long after it stops being sexy, fun, or cute.That's why giving more and doing more, being better and being disciplined make the difference in whether your strategy works or not.

We talk about the best set of plugins for building out WordPress, the ways to manage and improve website visitor conversions, and the new tools for email marketing to subscribers who sign up at the website.

I looked at the race clock as I crossed the finish line 2 hours 54 minutes and a few seconds. I took a few more steps toward the volunteers handing me my medal and walked to the side of the fence where I knelt down to think for a minute.

So what if you’re never the smartest person in the room. That just makes you human. So what if you don’t have enough money to avoid getting it right the first time. That just makes you human. So what if you avoid controversy by running away from the people that scare you most. That just makes you human.

No matter how much water I was trying to drink, I seemed to stay thirsty. My body had an insatiable desire for water. More than anything else in the world I just needed to feel hydrated.As I continued to run, the heat began to push my body's chemicals out of whack.

You should be worried about ebola turning into an uncontrollable plague. You should be worried because there aren't any good paying jobs where you're living right now. You should be worried because the unemployment rate is too high to support thriving communities.

Life is full of warning signs. Slow down. Road work ahead. Low balance notification. Gas tank on empty. You get alerts when you need to exercise more, when there is a dangerous virus on your computer, and when you're running out of driving time to get to your next business meeting

A good lie. A believable lie. A lie you desperately want to believe. But it's still a lie. A sham. A horrific mistake that will cripple your entire life.Being a fake doesn't make you smarter, faster, more relatable, better positioned in business, or ready to conquer the world.

One of the secrets to success in life is to master personal relationships. It doesn't matter what you're trying to achieve, it all comes down to the "being human" factor how good you are at managing the craziness of people.

Let's take a step back and think about how you yourself make decisions. Your logic isn't as incredibly intelligent as you think it is. You're not as smart as you think you are. (Neither is anyone else around you.)

It was 4:15 am when my alarm went off. I slowly pulled myself out of the hotel bed and shuffled over to the bathroom to brush my teeth. Today was the day. After years of running and several intense months of targeted training, I was as prepared as possible for this race.

There are always more deals than the one that you are looking at right now. Walking away is the first step in finding them. Mean people suck the inspiration out of you. Avoid them at all costs -- especially if one of them is your boss. Selling is the only way to grow your business. If you’re not selling something, you are about to lose everything.

You look at your resources and the path in front of you, and despite your best skills and remarkable experience, it just doesn't seem to all add up. You can't get from here to there where you want to be with any foreseeable plan or process. And that leaves you feeling stuck. Mired in a cocoon of confusion and passionate discomfort.

Because you aren't expecting anything else. Your low expectations are crushing your chances to do something epic. And the truth is that the only thing holding you back is your fear. You're afraid you're going to get hurt by caring too much. You think that if you don't want it too bad that you'll have less to lose.

Business people ask great business questions. Marketing people ask great marketing questions. And passionate book people ask epic book questions. They care about the quality of the cover and the weight and shine of each page. They are fascinated by layout and color scheme options. More importantly, they enjoy good stories and powerful prose.

I learned how tough I really am not. I learned about the necessity of humility. I learned how amazing it is to have friends to support you. I learned that practice and preparation can't be substituted for anything else.

One of the biggest lies ever invented for business leaders is that A/B testing is a viable strategy for business growth. Find a company anywhere who achieved massive, mind-blowing success by A/B testing their way to greatness. I dare you to find one. I'm begging you to find one.

The truth is that you're already better than someone else out there. You're already better than a lot of people out there. But you're probably not the best ever. You're probably not so legendary that millions of people are impacted by what you've done. By what you do. That's a whole different standard.

It’s as fair to say that your business has outgrown some types of customers as it is to say that you have some customers that you should have never brought on in the first place. (You know who they are!)

You’re Using Your Brain All Wrong.Posted in:Uncategorized-If you find yourself struggling to be creative, it might be because you're using your brain wrong. When was the last time you had one of those moments where you found yourself slapping your forehead saying: "I know I'm supposed to be remembering something" or "What am I forgetting? I know I'm forgetting something..."?

There's been a lot of debate over the last few years about the effectiveness of multitasking. Productivity experts make the case that trying to do more than one thing at the same time leads to poor results and half-finished outcomes

You Never Wanted It Bad Enough.Posted in:Uncategorized-It can't be optional. It can't be a "nice to have". It's has to be an obsession that ripples through every fiber of your being. You have to want it like you want a cup of cold water in the middle of the summer. You have to need it like a drowning man needs one more gasp of oxygen.

In college, you solve the math problem, write the paper, or take the test, and you walk out with a definitive score. The questions are generally set up with only one right answer. Black and white. Nice and easy.

What you "should do" isn't always as clear as you think it should be. Often, business books or strategy consultants try to distill ideas down into simple black or white decisions. But, most of life is simply not that clear cut. Even the decisions that appear to be simple are mostly gray.

Success Comes Down To One Big Thing.Posted in:Uncategorized-Being successful comes down to how hard you are willing to work. That's it. There are always new skills you need to learn. There are new technology that will save you heartache and pain. Gurus, consultants, and mentors can guide you past the obvious obstacles standing in your way.

Sometimes to go fast you need to stop -- and go slow. Creativity comes from the quietness of observation. Inspiration comes from noticing what could be done better.So much of getting successful results is being deliberate about noticing the small parts of life that easily getting overlooked in the stressfulness of everyday life.

There's always a good reason to stop doing what you're doing you're not getting results fast enough or it doesn't feel like what you're doing is working or someone else is making more money faster than you are by doing what they're doing. The reasons are endless. Your options for excuses are endless.There are countless, sophisticated explanations you can give to convince yourself that quitting is noble for your situation.

It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that if you don't put up a fight, life will leave you alone. Bad times will go pick on somebody else.But that's just not reality. You don't get a chance to catch your breath sometimes. You don't get a chance to head down your path without having obstacles in your way.

Nothing can stop you if you refuse to stop. Nothing can beat you until you give up. Those aren't just words, they are a mindset. The mindset of successful people.If you want to be successful in achieving goals, then you need to think about achieving goals a little bit differently.

Colors. Shapes. Sounds. Beautiful design. They all impact the subconscious response from those who meet and engage with you. Most of that automatic response isn't even something that people think about. It just happens. People come to a conclusion about you without talking themselves into any other explanation.

It's easy to think that if you knew one more thing that you would be more successful than you are right now. That's a lie. You don't need to know anything more than you know right now to get started. It's natural to assume that there's something missing from your ideas that would instantly propel you a little bit faster towards where you want to be. That's a lie. No bit of knowledge is going to transform you.

As Silly As Wet Sweaters In the Sahara.Posted in:Uncategorized-So many of the obstacles in your way are there because you put them there. You didn't just put them in your way, you defend them being there. You argue and fight to make sure that they are there. And then turn around and complain that "life isn't fair" complaining that you seem to have more obstacles than everyone else around you.

In celebration of the people who chase down all the shopping carts left randomly in the parking lot throughout the day. In celebration of the people who shout through the loudspeaker in the drive through so that you don't have to get out of your car.

When challenges arise and problems seem insurmountable, your challenge is not to have all the solutions all the time, it's just to remind yourself that no matter the obstacle in your way, you are tough enough to figure it out.

You Don’t Get To Ask For Help Right Now.Posted in:Uncategorized-Stop telling people what you want to do -- and start doing it. Stop taking your big dream and outsourcing it to other people for their help.Take action for yourself. Find answers. Uncover options. Connect with people who matter.

If you want to be lucky, work harder than everyone else around you. If you want to be lucky, practice delivering kindness to those you meet each day. If you want to be lucky, develop new skills before you need them. If you want to be lucky, be a good friend to the ones you already have.

It's easy to get discouraged when you see people doing bad things and appearing to be successful in spite of their poor behavior. You should never forget that time has a wonderful way of putting things back in their right place. People who do bad things get what is coming to them and your continued focus and hard work will yield you the results that you want for yourself

Being successful requires you to constantly review and update your strategy for getting to where you want to be. The ideas and tactics that used to work in the past might not be what will get you to the next level.

Don’t Throw Away Your Chance At Glory.Posted in:Uncategorized-Champions look at success differently than everyone else around them. For them it's not about what awards they win right now. It's not about feeling good right now that matters most to them. It's about doing whatever it takes in order to get to where you want to be.About doing the right thing, right now not making excuses.

Borrowing A Beat Down On Your Way To Greatness.Posted in:Uncategorized-Standing up for those who can't help themselves is isn't as glamorous as it seems on the movie screen. Real life doesn't work out as smoothly as Rambo or Rocky or Robin Hood. Sometimes it means that you take the beating that was being directed at the person you're trying to help up.

Being successful demands you staying in top physical form. You don't have to be an Olympic athlete to appreciate the fact that your body takes a beating in your quest to achieve the results you want for you.

Manage Your Head Game From Your Back Pocket.Posted in:Uncategorized-It's impossible to be mentally fit when your personal finances are all out of whack. You can't focus on being successful when you're stressed out about money and the poor financial choices you have made in the past. Which is why a big part of being mentally fit is making smart financial decisions being financially fit.

You have to want it. You have to desperately crave to be successful.Like a person who is drowning, you have to flail and fight and exert every ounce of effort within your control to get to where you wanna be.

Instead of just writing articles with ideas about what ways for you to be a superstar, I thought it might be a good idea to share examples of edgy Great tools, neat technology, awesome processes, ideas and images that inspire us.

You will do just about anything to avoid suffering. That's just how you're wired. Problems and pain and potential risks are scary.And when you don't think you need to experience any more hurt, it's all too easy just to back down from the fight and let someone else absorb the suffering.

I'm not joking about that one bit. That's the name of Joanne's latest book. So you know she's pretty serious about it too. Really serious, by the way. Joanne Black has spent massive amounts of time refining the craft of getting referrals the life blood of small businesses everywhere.

What makes Matt so awesome is his willingness to give wisdom and encouragement -- and his raw passion for wanting to change the world with "love".I enjoy every minute with Matt. Both this conversation and the many others that we have had together over the years.

Mark Hunter is a bad-ass sale sniper. He talks a no-nonsense brand of business success. It won't take you long to realize that he takes "closing deals" pretty darn seriously. His popular book, High-Profit Selling, is based on 2 decades leading sales organizations for Fortune 100 players. Today, he travels 240 days a year, working with global leaders like Coca-Cola, Kawasaki, Sara Lee, Mattel, Unilever and Godiva.

Nancy Bleeke [pronounced "blay key", by the way] is sharp, funny and "silly smart" when it comes to sales. Her popular book, Conversations That Sell, is a must read for anyone looking to close more opportunities. With both of our books about "conversations," I reached out to Nancy to join me on an EDGY Interview.

Every week we find edgyness all around us -- ordinary people (or companies) achieving outrageous success. We write about it. Speak about it. And travel the globe advising leaders how to leverage the ideas around it to drive results.

Bob Burg might be the the mostly kindly shrewd business genius on the planet. If you follow the "Who is Bob Burg?" link on his website, you'll find out that Bob is a best selling author (a few times over), a popular business speaker, and an avid animal fanatic. He's pretty damn awesome -- that's who Bob really is.

Her latest best-selling book, Agile Selling, is a fresh look at the idea of being the best at what you do. It’s a smart, fast read that will give you good ideas about generating revenue for your business and navigating the challenges of growing a business in todays’ chaotic corporate landscape. That’s me telling you that if you buy the book (and do what it says) you’ll end up being better at business.

As a researcher, author, and emerging thought leader in modern selling, Tim’s expertise and enthusiasm have taken him to Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East as both consultant and keynote speaker. He is one of the Top 40 Sales Influencers on Twitter globally and his most recent book, Sales Chaos: Using Agility Selling to Think and Sell Differently, is on sale now.

Ken Thoreson has spent most of his life training killer sales managers. According to Ken's bio, he“operationalizes” sales management systems and processes that pull revenue out of the doldrums into the fresh zone. During the past 16 years, his consulting, advisory, and platform services have illuminated, motivated, and rejuvenated the sales efforts for organizations throughout the world.

Every week we find edgyness all around us -- ordinary people (or companies) achieving outrageous success. We write about it. Speak about it. And travel the globe advising leaders how to leverage the ideas around it to drive results.

You don't want it enough. You don't ache for change. You aren't passionate about being different. If things change and life get's better -- you're cool with that -- just as long as you don't have to be too invested in the process. You want more for yourself as long as you don't have to get hurt in the process. And so you venture nothing and end up gaining nothing.

It is going to cost you to be better. It's not free to improve. You're going to have to invest your focus and time and money in order to create small differences that eventually yield big results.Make no mistake: you will be better if you purposefully invest in things that make you better.

What does your day revolve around? What are you looking forward to right now? Is it the time you get off from work this evening? Is it a TV show episode that's airing later this week? Is it a social event, an upcoming job interview, or the next class you are studying for?

The only fair chance you have is the one you give yourself. There are no magic formulas or secret processes that will force life to treat you fairly.There is nothing you can do to guarantee that you'll get enough time or respect from those around you to accomplish your dream.

To be honest with you, I'm really a hillbilly what it comes to running. I don't use any special powders or shakes or strategies. I just run as hard as I can, for as long as I can. And if I'm still not at the end line by that time, I just gut it out until I get there.

There is something magical about discovering something new. Whether it’s the first time you figured out how to ride a “big bike” without re-skinning your knee (Remember those days?) or even when you finally get that new TV remote to work right — the “aha” is an emotion you remember.

There are a lot of strategies for being successful in life. From business to sports to science to being an elite Navy SEAL -- there are tried and true strategies that give you the edge over your competition.

You get what you pay for. If you make the choice to pay for 300 movie channels and a fancy cable box that records more videos than you can watch in the day, then you shouldn't complain when your entrepreneurial dreams fizzle and crash.

Instead of just writing articles with ideas about what ways for you to be a superstar, I thought it might be a good idea to share examples of edgy -- Great tools, neat technology, awesome processes, ideas and images that inspire us.

If you go looking for problems, you will find them. If you go looking for a better life, you will find it. If you go looking for more profit in your business, you will find it. If you go looking for ways to be a better person, you will find them.

If You Don’t Plan Smart, You’ll Just Do Something Stupid.Posted in:Uncategorized-A big part of getting things done is having a system -- a plan -- to get things done. If you don't have a process for cataloguing what needs to be done, scheduling out when you're going to do those things, and filtering distractions that get in the way of that process, then you will find yourself struggling to get things done consistently.

Then again, the usual reaction to that bold statement is simply to say: "Let me figure that out on my own. Let me have a lot of money, and then I will decide if I'm happy or not." Right?The problem is that people who have "more money" think and act differently than you might be thinking and acting right now.

You can't help but hear people telling you what you need to do in order to be successful. You "need" to get a college degree. You "need" to build a mentor network. You "need" to play it safe until you're sure that what you're doing is working.And while the people giving you that advice probably aren't trying to hurt you, following their advice blindly will probably end up hurting you.

There's no shortcut for the time that it takes for you to start seeing results. You can't wish that time to be any shorter. You can't will that time to be any shorter. Big plans don't just take lots of money and effort and smart thinking, they take time sometimes lots of it. Which is usually where things go wrong. Because time is one thing you can't get more of.

What Comes Next?Posted in:Uncategorized-Passion is a great accelerant -- but can be dangerous when you blindly let it drive your actions. There are many things around you that can cause you to be distracted, annoyed, or otherwise unfocused on what really matters. Circumstances like running late for a meeting or getting stuck in an unexpected traffic jam can quickly alter your mood and your perception of reality.

t's easy to look at superstars and assume that they have something that you don't have. It's natural to automatically come to the conclusion that those who accomplish great things were born to be extraordinary. That doing mind-blowing feats of greatness was somehow predestined for them. An inescapable outcome.

Freedom is about overcoming the stupid things that stop you from achieving your goals.

When Your Thinker Makes You a Stinker.Posted in:Uncategorized-What you think about most you become. The fears you allow to take root in your mind ultimately come true.Have you ever noticed that when you're already in a grumpy frame of mind that bad things keep happening to you?

You don't have to do a lot each day to get a lot done over a lifetime. Having big dreams isn't about you sprinting as fast as you can towards the finish line, only to collapse once you reach your goal.It's about the mental fortitude to do a little bit each day until you get to where you want to be

In fact, working smarter usually takes more time and effort up front then just working hard consistently day after day after day.Regardless of what tactics you use or what strategy you employ, you need to be in the right frame of mind when you decide to conquer new goals.

To be successful, you have to live life on your own terms. You have to do your own thing, your own way. You can take inspiration from others, but you can't copy the life they are living. You can take criticism and feedback from those around you, but you'll never be happy if you try to mimic what makes other people happy.

There's no good excuse for not trying. Sure you can find a justifiable reason why you don't want to do what's hard but necessary. There are always experts you can find that will tell you that what you're about to try isn't something that actually returns good results.

What wouldn't you do if you really felt like today was the only thing that mattered? Would you still go into the office and do your job -- or would you spend your time someplace else, with someone else? It's easy to stay busy and in the process of doing things forget about doing what really matters.

The worst defense you can play is to have no offense at all. Sometimes it feels like you're in a position where you have gone forward far enough.You've accomplished some achievements and made some news -- and now you feel like it's time to just sit back and protect what you have.

There's something to be said for being in the right place at the right time. But for every right time, there are thousands of wrong times.Times where it feels like you're doing the wrong thing. Times where the data seems to show that your dream isn't worth it. That you're never going to achieve the big goals you set for yourself.

What needs to be done, needs to be done now. Without urgency, awesome ideas simply become regrets. You don't have unlimited time to accomplish the audacious goals you set for yourself. Times change. Trends change. People change.

The problem with playing it safe is that you spend a lot of time and energy doing nothing. You don't make easy decisions because you need more evidence. You wait until you have the data to show you that your original idea was right. You pause, stop, and start -- only to pause again.

Don’t Confuse Words With Warrioring.Posted in:Uncategorized-Just because you can follow a cookbook recipe doesn't mean that you have the skills to be a master chef. Just because you know tennis terminology doesn't mean that you could be a good coach.Just because you're a fan doesn't mean that you could make the team.

To be successful you have to stay inspired. Inspiration is the fuel that powers the engine of your soul. Invest in your heart and soul. That means you might need a better coach or mentor or a new set of friends.

You can't live without water for more than a few days. It doesn't matter what survival training you've learned or how much heart and soul you have. After a few days without water your body just stops working.

It's okay to be scared. It's not okay to let yourself be paralyzed by fear. There are times when you're going to wonder where your job is going to come from. You're going to wonder how you're going to make ends meet.

You see the ghosts of criticism and failure and other people's expectations because you're consumed by what other people think about you.Instead of seeing the positive side of a situation, you notice the failures. You see a good situation and interpret it as something that's bad.

Better yet -- be a better version of you today than you were yesterday. Learn from your mistakes. Try new things. Fail big. Keep trying. It's easy to fall into the mindless trap of listening to everyone else's opinions.

The Problem With Eating Humble Pie Cold.Posted in:Uncategorized-Not everything you do will turn out the way you want it to turn out. Sometimes you will be in the middle of business deals where you completely fail -- you lose your money and time and walk away with egg on your face feeling a little bit stupid.

Accept responsibility for your actions, attitude, and influence. Care about others, yourself, and big dreams. Enjoy the journey. Make sure each step matters. Lead by example. Lead when no one is following. Open your mind to the possibility that there is an option you haven't considered.

Success is more than just the easily repeatable idioms that are often thrown around in business. Leadership and motivation and high performance are more complex than cheeky quotes or "age old" anecdotes.

It's hard to get motivated enough to do the hard tasks that success demands until your sufficiently grumpy about where you are in life right now. Getting angry will earn you a burst of energy towards making changes. Feeling happy will make the tasks you're working on seem less painful.

Progress can be painful. While the idea of being better is attractive, actually getting better takes time and effort and frustration.Sometimes you have to get beat with a stick . It requires agitation on your part.

Who has got your back? Who is helping you get around tight quarters? Any a great achievement takes teamwork.On the day of the event it might just be you in the middle of combat, but it took other people helping for you to get to where you are right now.

You'll never get to where you want to be unless you move from where you are right now. You have to move away from outdated thinking. You have to move past selfish ambitions and arrogant attitude. You have to move your thinking from "what will you lose" to "how much more can you gain".

Don't limit yourself to the dreams that other people have for you. Think beyond the possibilities of everything that you know to be true right now. What if nothing were holding you back from the audacious goals you have for yourself?

"Will buys you enough time to learn the skills you need," that was how Jill Konrath ended 45 minutes of a video interview with me a few days ago. Jill's latest book, Agile Selling, is a fresh look at the idea of being the best at what you do. It's a smart, fast read that will give you good ideas about generating revenue for your business and navigating the challenges of growing a business in todays' chaotic corporate landscape. That's me telling you that if you buy the book (and do what it says) you'll end up being better at business.

Anything worth doing is worth doing even when it's hard. You have to get it straight in your head that what you're about to do isn't going to be easy.It's not going to be quick. Its not going to be fun. But it's the right thing to do -- so you're going to do it.

A warrior is tough and resilient. A warrior has a reason to fight. A warrior is calculating but kind. A warrior believes in a cause greater than himself. A warrior understand the value of teamwork. A warrior refuses to give up until the mission is over. A warrior doesn't complain about the cost of the battle. A warrior does what needs to be done even with it's difficult.

If You’re Not Crying You’re Not Trying.Posted in:Uncategorized-When was the last time you cried because of the pain? This isn't about you being a wimp or whiner, it's about you putting yourself in situations where you might get hurt. When was the last time you felt so badly because of what you were going through that you felt yourself crumble on the inside?

They are times when you need to get hard things done and you just don't feel like doing them. Call it uninspired or demotivated -- your attitude is less than ideal for you performing like a champion.Which can be OK.

There are very few things that will distract you more from being successful than having financial troubles. Make no mistake -- a lousy marriage or personal health problems can be challenging, but "being broke" is a whole new level of stress. Especially if it's a condition you brought on yourself.

You're not the only one trying to achieve audacious dreams with your life. You're not the only one who wakes up tired and goes to bed with unfinished ambitions. You're not the only one who faces challenges that seem impossible to work around. You're not the only one who tries and fails and tries and fails again.

Is it reasonable to rob a bank? Not when you have a six figure job, a promising future, and a beautiful family at home that adores you. But what if your family were kidnapped and you were told that the only way they will ever live is if you go to rob that back?

How to Achieve Awesomeness Without Being A Jerk.Posted in:Uncategorized-Being driven isn't a valid excuse for not being grateful. When you are all consumed with a purpose and a big goal it comes naturally to focus only on what is best for you. You wake up in the morning thinking about what you need to get done for the day and work tirelessly getting those things done. There's nothing wrong with that.

It's easy for you to stay positive when things are looking good. You can quickly smile and stay focused when there are no problems. No frustrations in your life.But it's harder to do what needs to be done when the pressure of problems is weighing you down.

Tactics like cold calling are labeled outdated. Strategies like door-to-door selling are decried as a waste of your time. Working physically together with your team instead of virtually is seen as outdated and unnecessary.

You might think that your message is black-and-white, but it's probably pretty gray to everyone else around you.The truth about life is that your personal experiences and life choices color everything that you look at.

Maybe you should start living life a little more unscripted. You will often hear strategists, mentors and coaches tell you that you need to be prepared: "you'll be more effective if you don't wing it." And certainly, almost any topic is more intellectually relevant when you are less ignorant about the matter.

It Will Be Worth It.Posted in:Uncategorized-The battle to be successful is a rough one. You're guaranteed to get knocked around, kicked down, and bullied by unfortunate circumstances.There will be a lot of mornings when you wake up and aren;t sure if you have enough guts to make it through another day.

You don't always get enough time to make hard decisions. Sometimes you have to make an important decision with less information then you would like to have, with not enough advisors telling you what to do, and with less confidence that you would like to have at this moment.You probably need more time.

Your Some Day Could Be Today.Posted in:Uncategorized-Someday you're going to go on a vacation and unplug from the craziness of your daily schedule.Someday you're going to get lucky and not have to worry about money anymore.Someday you're going to get back in shape, get your finances under control, and go tackle that big dream you've put on the sidelines.

Resist The Urge To Give Up Slowly.Posted in:Uncategorized-You'll never quit all of a sudden. You'll never just decide you've had enough without first thinking about it. That's the danger of thinking negatively. That's the problem with allowing yourself to entertain the notion that you might not be strong enough to get to where you want to be.

Warriors Wage War.Posted in:Uncategorized-The truth about goals is that when you're committed to doing what it takes, you find yourself with fewer choices to make.Life becomes the pursuit of a single, undeniable passion.You're all in. You're battling for the inches that enable you to move towards where you want to be.When you are committed, there's no ambivalence about what you're willing to do and when you're ready to get started doing it.

They can’t break you if you won't bend far enough. They can't make you do what they want you to do if you decide you're going to do it your way.They can't brainwash you with their ideas if you have ideas of your own that are big enough.They can't make you stop if you just put your head down and keep moving past the obstacles standing in your way.

Even when you don't feel like it. Even when you don't think you're capable of changing -- you have to change.Because nothing gets better until you start making it better.No matter how far you have been kicked down there's always a way to rise above the failure you're experiencing now.

It's hard to get things done when you don't know what you want to do. Even if you know what you want to do it's difficult to achieve success when your life is a mess.You need to have a plan to stay organized. When things are a mess you can't think straight -- let alone work smart.Being more productive is something that we all think about. There's only so much time in the day so getting things done is about quality and quantity.

If you've ever taken a pottery class, you know how truly amazing it is when anartist turns a lump of clay into a gorgeous vase. It seems so easy when the wheel is spinning and the artist's wet finger tips mold the ridges of the clay into something beautiful.But then when you sit down at the wheel and start to shape, your design doesn't look all that beautiful. Its not the same thing at all.

It's ironic how you often only hear what you want to hear. Other times you hear everything that wasn't said.You can walk away from a meeting offended or leave your email inbox shaking your head wondering why people are such jerks and idiots.

You should be a little angrier than you are right now. Think about it -- you've tried and tried and tried and still aren't where you want to be. Sure, some of what you said you wanted to do has come though for you, but there's a bunch of other stuff you still haven't been able to pull off yet.

4 Reasons You Might Be A Fauxpreneur.Posted in:Uncategorized-The fauxpreneur sees the success of being an entrepreneur and decides he wants a piece of it. That he deserves a piece of it. He has enough education to argue eloquently for that success. And so he builds the SWOT analysis and the perfect 9-slide deck he thinks you want. And you're made to believe that you're talking to the next founders of Facebook. But you're not. It’s “Flake Book”.

Don’t Be That Other Guy.Posted in:Uncategorized-You won't always know exactly what you want from life. You won't know what you want three years from now -- sometimes even three months from now.You may not know the exact person you want to marry or what job you want to be doing when you're old.

From time to time it's important to force yourself to get a new perspective on the world around you.If all you ever do is talk to the same people about the same subjects, then you're just going to get the same recycled ideas and agreeable conversation that drives stagnation.

What comes naturally isn't always what's best for you. It's natural to be jealous when other people get breaks that you think you deserve.It's natural to spend money you don't have to buy things you don't need.It's natural to try once or twice to accomplish something that requires you trying thousands of times.

New Business Advise Isn’t Better Business Advice.Posted in:Uncategorized-Just because it's new doesn't mean it's better. It just means it's novel. You're probably excited because of how fresh it sounds right now. Your adrenaline is pumping.You find yourself motivated, excited, and bursting with energy. You just learned something new.

You won't get far in life doing the bare minimum. To be candid, you won't get much farther doing a little bit more.It's easy to think that because you're doing one more thing than those around you that you're automatically destined for greatness.

The truth is that you have to do a "lot a bit" more than everyone else around you to have a chance at attempting great things.

Every superhero knows the secret for greatness that most of us forget. They know that heroes are healers. It might look like a superhero is rescuing a baby from a burning building or stopping a super villain before he destroys the earth, but he is really just healing.

Anyone who tells you it's going to be easy is lying to you. There's no such thing as a free lunch. There's really no such thing as an easy lunch.If it's easy then it's sold cheap. It has no value. It's not worth considering or thinking about. Easy is the opposite of valuable. It is the enemy of worthwhile. It's nothing that you want in a dream.

Stop Getting Angry. Get Even.Posted in:Uncategorized-A lot of what distracts you from achieving the goals you set out for yourself is simply the circumstances and behavior of those around you.Instead of focusing on the key tasks that will lead to your success, you find yourself wrapped up in disappointment and confusion.

Anyone can offer discounts. Flash sales and "members only" offers are as easy as plugging in names into a database and pushing out automated emails to a select group of probable buyers. Do those strategies work? Sometimes.But, if your whole business is built off the back of a database and email marketing, you're bound to face disappointment when people stop opening your emails and buying the nonstop "discounts" you're pushing at them.

There's nothing stopping you from executing. There is nothing that can get in your way when you decide you're willing to do whatever it takes. That's not "foo foo" motivational mumbo jumbo. That's real life.That's the most honest business advice you'll ever hear. You can go anything as long as you're willing to work hard enough and long enough.

One of the distinguishing characteristics of ordinary people who achieve outrageous success is their ability to deny themselves pleasure during their pursuit of big dreams. Instead of getting sidetracked with trendy technology, vacation homes, or the latest and most fashionable vehicle, ordinary people in pursuit of big dreams say NO to anything that isn't wildly important.

It's never over until you're over. It's not done until you're done. The job isn't finished until you're finished. That's the beautiful complexity of life. If you want something, you can go and get it as long as you can go.If you want to be somebody different, you can do that as long as you're willing to work for it. Willing to work on it.

When you don't have a plan for how you are going to spend your day, you'll usually find yourself wasting the moments you have to make a difference.That's the secret of being busy. That's why busy people get more done. Because they are already moving.When you already have things to do it's easy to see what is a priority and what can wait until later. When you're on the go, your brain and body are focused on one primary thing, getting things done.

How To Pursue Life Tired And Tough.Posted in:Uncategorized-You're going to get tired. You're going to lose sleep. If you're working hard toward achieving an impossible goal then you're going to have to manage life with tired eyelids.It doesn't matter what your dream might be, working hard and getting things done is going to cost you some sleeping time.And not just because you're working hard to achieve your dream, life itself gets in the way of you being well rested and a clear minded.

Everyone we studied shared these qualities. All of them. Each one. They were extreme, disciplined, giving, and human. More importantly, they “tried”. They tried a lot.Just because you have skill doesn’t mean you have will. Jadav did. He changed the world around him.You could too.

Whether you are angling for a promotion, trying to improve a personal athletic best, or developing ways to improve your community, your church, or your small business -- believing in your dream is the beginning of your journey.

You Always Have Enough Time.Posted in:Uncategorized-You always have enough time to finish a little bit more of what you have started. You always have enough time to take a second look to check the details.You always have enough time to work a little bit harder than you did the last time.You always have enough time to share a motivating word to someone around you.

What can you do that completely disrupts your prospect’s negative perception of being manipulated by you? The rest of your industry is sending “Last Chance” emails and “3 Hour Only” discount parties that are just confusing and distracting your ideal customer.

Never let someone else ruin what you can ruin for yourself: your day.Own it. Use it. Invest it doing something that you care about.Don't let the silly, cynical thinking of those around ruin your chances of doing something awesome today.

What It Really Means To Be A Screw-Up.Posted in:Uncategorized-You're going to make mistakes. You are going to try hard and end up losing.You're not going to get it right every first time.You're going to bite off more than you can ever chew.You're going to aim high and miss the mark.You're going to create something that looks ugly.You're going to screw up. Fall short of your goal. Fail. Lose. And look like a fool.

There's always a good reason why you shouldn't be doing what you're doing. There is "always" a faster way. Or an option that requires less money out of pocket.The truth about big ideas and unbelievable dreams is that it all looks crazy until you achieve the goal you had in mind all along

To be better at any skill you need to measure how well you're doing right now. To improve, there has to be a bar to aim for. A goal. A target. Whatever you call "being the best you can be", you have to know what you want to achieve and what you're willing to do to get there.How you frame that target usually indicates the results you can expect to get.

Stop following someone else's plans and start training dreams. Stop listening to what other people tell you and just follow your dreams.Stop going through the motions and work through your dream.Stop trying to be perfect and stumble your way deliberately through your dreams.Stop starting and stopping and starting and just keep moving towards your dream

Sometimes It’s Not You.Posted in:Uncategorized-Not everyone is going to like you. No matter what you do, there will always be people who hate your guts. They will misjudge your motives, misunderstand you're thinking, and often outright detest everything you are as a person.

Why It’s Right To Be Wrong.Posted in:Uncategorized-It might feel like admitting failure will only feed into what your critics are unfairly saying about you. It might feel like denying that you're wrong will help you squeeze your way out of the corner you feel boxed into.But just because it feels right not to be wrong doesn't mean it's right after all.It's the worst possible move.If you're never wrong, you can never be better. If there's nothing you can do to improve, then you'll never end up achieving extraordinary success.

You’re Not Really In The Game At All.Posted in:Uncategorized-Being "in the game" isn't about where you are when the game is being played. It's about where your head is at while you're playing. You might have a uniform on and be wet with sweat, but that doesn't necessarily mean that your "in the game".

It use to be that your time clock was the sun. You worked from daylight until dusk to produce a successful harvest. There was no understanding of working a "9 to 5". No populist "need to be balanced" explanation for working less.

You weren't smarter because you worked less. There was only one reason why you didn't put in the effort required to be successful.

It use to be that your time clock was the sun. You worked from daylight until dusk to produce a successful harvest. There was no understanding of working a "9 to 5". No populist "need to be balanced" explanation for working less.

You weren't smarter because you worked less. There was only one reason why you didn't put in the effort required to be successful.

It use to be that your time clock was the sun. You worked from daylight until dusk to produce a successful harvest. There was no understanding of working a "9 to 5". No populist "need to be balanced" explanation for working less.You weren't smarter because you worked less. There was only one reason why you didn't put in the effort required to be successful.

Where Every Big Success Starts.Posted in:Uncategorized-Every journey begins with the first step. Every project begins with the first thought.Every last stand begins with the first line in the sand.Every construction project begins with the first block.Every meal begins with the first bite.Every game begins with the first move.

In every fight, as things start to get messy, leaders will look around them to see who still "has their back". Who is still working and sweating and trying. It's natural. They're tired and stressed and cranky about what still needs to be done. And in those moments of frustration, they look around to make sure they're not all by themselves.

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to change when you need to change? You might spend 50 years screaming 'bloody murder' about how you'll never eat green leafy vegetables, but once you've had a heart attack and the doctor tells you that you're at high risk to have another one, it's pretty amazing how quickly you decide you want to change.

The Lie Of Easy Choices.Posted in:Uncategorized-There is no such thing as making an easy choice. By definition -- if it is a choice, it's hard work. It requires that you consider multiple options. It demands that you make a determination that could impact the rest of your life.

Since the beginning of mankind, we have never deviated from that formula. Equipment has gotten better. Water and nutrition has improved. We've even invented artificial sunlight to help grow plants indoors.But, farmers don't reinvent that formula each year. They don't go asking themselves what can they do to work less and reap more.

It Doesn’t Matter One Bit.Posted in:Uncategorized-It doesn't matter what other people get away with that you can't seem to let slide by. It doesn't matter what you think is fair or how often things seem to be unlucky for you.It doesn't matter how many more times you have to try than those around you.It doesn't matter how other people got rich, built a following, or became successful.It doesn't matter what other people think of your ideas, plans or goals.

Not every day is a moment with you find yourself standing on stage receiving an award. Not every day is the time for you to turn over a new leaf.Not every day do you feel like you're in charge and control of your destiny.Not every day are you working at your full potential.Not every day are you looking forward to what needs to be done.

Ridiculous Questions You Think You Need The Answer To.Posted in:Uncategorized-That's when you start asking questions that you think you need the answers to.How long is it going to take? How do I know if this is working? When does it get any easier? What if this doesn't work?Instead of focusing on the task at hand and fighting for that next inch of dominance, answering these ridiculous questions becomes all consuming.

Why Fast, Easy Or Cheap Is A Lie.Posted in:Uncategorized-Anybody can do what's fast, cheap or easy. By definition champions do was others are not capable or willing to do. The embarrassing truth is that you naturally choose what is easy over what is hard.

It doesn't matter that you come in to work late each day until you get passed over for a pay raise and promotion that you deserve. It doesn't matter that you're "just being honest" until you can't seem to find anyone willing to stand behind you any more.It doesn't matter that you don't work hard enough each day until you realize you have wasted the last ten years of your life spinning in circles.

Getting things done isn't all that special of a skill. The truth is that you don't really need to be gifted, smart, or even savvy to get things done. Finishing the job is more about desperation and discipline than raw talent.

Never expect your customers to be as excited about what you were selling as you are.Give more value than people pay for and customers will keep paying you long after it seems reasonable.A smile or remembering a customer's name are better sales strategies than offering discounts or flash sales.You exist because customers allow you to exist. Never forget that.The best customer retention strategy is a great customer service plan.

Think about where you are right now and all the people who helped to get you there. Think about the time they have spent and the care they have invested in you.It wasn't magic or luck. It was a person taking time out of their day to help you reach your potential. To help you follow your dreams.Their effort wasn't free. It cost them something. Time. Or money. Usually both.

Ever wonder what would happen if you would just be you -- if you stopped trying to look like something that you're not? We spend a lot of time pretending to be something that were not.We learn catchy phrases so that we can be witty in a discussion instead of digging deep into a subject so that we can be experts. We dress the part instead of living the part.

Drinking a cup of water one time won't keep you hydrated and healthy. Dieting one day won't make you instantly lose any weight or suddenly become healthy..Making one cold call won't help you grow your business or drive new overnight sales.Saying one kind word doesn't make you a thoughtful person or empathetic.Saving one dollar doesn't end up making you rich or financially independent.Reading one book about business won't make you an instant tycoon.

Achieving success requires answering the hard questions that challenge you in your day today struggle.How long is it going to take to achieve your goals? How much longer are you going to have to sweat it out? When will things start getting easier?

You don't need to be smart to change the world. You just need to be inspired.Since the beginning of time, great leaders have understood the importance of emotion, passion, and connecting what is hard to do with what is powerful to feel.

The truth is that you don't need to be smart to grab a sword and charge the enemy head on. You don't need have a college degree to bleed and sweat and fight and curse and cry and fight some more.

Have you ever been some place where you just didn't feel welcome?No one told you to leave. There weren't any signs pointing out that you didn't belong.In fact, looking back it's hard to explain why you felt so miserable being there.

Just let go of old grudges and silly feuds. Just get started on what needs to be done.Just ignore the skeptics and critics.Just care a little more than you did last time.Just keep learning the lessons you got wrong last time.Just focus on what you think is important.Just stop procrastinating.

Business can seem chaotic and confusing a lot of the time. There are so many choices and decisions you have to make that at times you can feel paralyzed by the enormity of what all is going on.But when you feel weighed down by questions and fatigued by the journey it’s natural to throw up your hands and take yourself out of the game.

Lifeis too short to spend entangled with bad people.People who lie and steal and cheat. People who manipulate and hurt those around them to get ahead. People who are interested only in making a quick dollar without expending any effort.

How To Manage The Loneliness You Feel.Posted in:Uncategorized-The irony of feeling lonely is that I'm not alone. A lot of you feel the exact same way that I do at times. You feel like you're "the only one". That you can't easily put into words the emotions you feel about getting to where you want to be.

There isn't anything you need to do to be successful that you can't already do something about right now. There is anything truly holding you back from getting to where you wanna be. From being the person you want to be.It's easy to play the "if only" game, dreaming about what you could be if things were different. The truth is that you have everything you need to be successful.

You don’t have to grind it out forever. It just feels like that. You don’t have to scrape by financially forever. It just feels like that.You don’t have to learn lessons the hard way forever. It just feels like that.You don’t have to come in second place forever. It just feels like that.You don’t have to bleed, sweat, and cry forever. It just feels like that.

Easy Isn’t Simple.Posted in:Uncategorized-It's simple to say "Thank You" when you receive value. But it's not always easy. It's simple to work relentlessly towards a goal you want to achieve. But it's never easy.It's simple to be kind even when you feel like you are being treated unfairly. But it's not easy.It's simple to be disciplined about getting the right things done each day. But it's not easy at all.It's simple to believe in yourself even when no one seems to. But it's not easy to do.

Most of the time, success simply comes down to not making mistakes.If you can’t do something brilliant, just don’t do something stupid.And making stupid decisions really comes down to three things you might be doing wrong.

Doing hard things isn’t about getting lucky, thinking smarter than everyone else around you, or masterminding the perfect plan. It’s about putting yourself in the uncomfortable situation where you are forced to deliver super human performance.

It’s delusional to think that you can pretend to be somebody that you’re not so that eventually you will end up becoming the person that you should be.It’s tempting to pretend that you’re faster than you really are. That you are smarter than you really are. That you have fewer problems, more options, and smaller obstacles than what you really have.

Until It Doesn’t.Posted in:Uncategorized-Courage. Relentless passion.And the ability to endure.Because it always looks impossible until it's not.It seems impossibly hard until it's not.It feels awkward until it doesn't.

When agriculture was the secret to survive, farmers understood the value of sunlight. You could only work while the sun was shining so a typical day was from "sun up" to "sun down". When the sun went down, you stopped working. Whether you wanted to keep working or not, you had to stop. You were forced to stop.

You have to play the game because you love the game or the game starts to play you. Which means you are either working towards the success you dream about or being worked by someone in pursuit of their dream.

You can work harder than you think you can. But if you think you can't, you probably won't even try. You can learn faster than you think you can. But if you think you can't, you probably won't even try.You can keep giving longer than you think you can. But if you think you can't, you probably won't even try.

You Have To Do The Hard ThingsPosted in:Uncategorized-You have to make the call you’re afraid to make. You have to get up earlier than you want to get up.You have to give more than you get in return right away.You have to care more about others than they care about you.You have to fight when you are already injured, bloody, and sore.

Thinking that you can do anything and everything and be the best at all of it all the time.

Customers don't want lies. They want to believe that they are making the right decision by choosing you.So spend less time stretching the truth and more time focusing in on the truth of where you happen to be especially amazing.You will get better results. You will spend less time chasing deals that turn out to be unprofitable.

Or is it just you losing your way some of the time? Life can be confusing. A puzzle to solve. Time on the other hand is really quite simple. You can't find it or lose it, earn more or prolong it.You can waste it. Or you can invest it in actions and attitudes that matter.Either way, it's your time.And there's no time to lose.

There's no good excuse why you shouldn't be answering (almost) every email that hits your inbox. Anything else is just rude behavior.In recent years, it's become a trendy business strategy to selectively reply to email communication. Some emails get a fast response and others die a slow death in your inbox only to have you give a vague answer later about "I think I saw something like that".

What would you do if you just learned that you only have 6 months to live? -- Time has a way of focusing you on what really matters. Are you waisting your time?Is what you are doing something that you should be doing? -- You have to decide what's right for you. And deep down you know if you're on course or just wasting your time.

Convincing everyone that you're right all the time. Being financially independent with a "work from home" atittude. Earning more while working less. Getting more support while giving less yourself. Trying to change the world when you won't change yourself.

It is hard work to learn a new skill. It is not easy to break old habits. Starting something new requires extraordinary focus and attention. Momentum, on the other hand, just requires a tiny next step.It is easy to fantasize about your new resolution as being the magical difference between success and failure -- that by deciding to turn over a new leaf everything will suddenly be new and better for you moving forward.

EDGY 200 - Working smarter is a result of hard work. Not a replacement for it. EDGY 4 - If you have to give up, give up your fear. EDGY 148 - So what if the experts disagree with you. They might be wrong. EDGY 117 - It is always what it’s not. Remember that when things appear to add up.

I run ultra-marathons -- races that are 50, 100 or more miles long. I have never outright won one of these races, but I've been competitive -- finishing in the top 5 in every "ultra" that I have run. My New Years resolution for 2013 was to win an ultra-marathon. To take home the grand prize.

JEFF SHORE is a highly sought-after sales expert, speaker, author and executive coach whose innovative BE BOLD methodology teaches you how to change your mindset and change your world. His latest book, Be Bold and Win the Sale: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone and Boost Your Performance, is forthcoming from McGraw-Hill in January 2014.

There's a difference between making promises and keeping promises. There's a difference between thinking about doing something and getting started doing it. Making changes in your life is not about hoping that things change for the better for you. It's about purposing that you will do whatever it takes in order to achieve the change that you want for you.

So it is with relationships and maintaining communication. You not communicating as well as you should be is the beginning of the fracturing process that ends with your customers doing business with somebody else.

Which is why your customer service team needs to be selling with their smiles. Your support and IT team needs to be selling with their clear answers and a timely response. Your marketing team needs to be selling with messages that are short, clear, and actionable. Your operations' executives need to sell by building an environment where employees are happy and successful.

When life feels chaotic it's easy to be overwhelmed with everything that's going on around you.What used to be simple and scheduled and formulaic now seems cluttered and uncomfortable -- and you're not sure you can get anything done right now.

Why Living Life Uncomfortably Is The Only Way To Live.Posted in:Uncategorized-It's uncomfortable to try your best and still end up losing. It's uncomfortable to try and try and try and try and try again. It's uncomfortable to know that you're not the smartest person in the room -- and might not ever be. It's uncomfortable to face the harsh criticism of those who doubt your ability to win.

You have to have a plan for you. You have to know where you want to go and how you want to get there. You have to pay attention to what matters most to you. You have to obsess about what really matters.

Small Is The Better Big.Posted in:Uncategorized-Big dreams start with small decisions. Audacious goals begin with simple ideas. Greatness is less about doing one, big, mind-blowing feat of greatness and more about the tiny tasks you undertake each day. It’s easy to get swept away with romantic thoughts of doing one big thing that makes you successful. But that’s just not how it …

It took five days before someone would return a message to me. For a billion dollar company doing the simple job of picking up my trash, they clearly didn't put an emphasis on customer service. Last Tuesday, a few days before a dozen family members arrived at my house to celebrate Thanksgiving, I took my trash to the curb like any other week, expecting Waste Management would pick up my trash.

Nothing positive will change in your life until you get angry about where you are right now -- angry and motivated. Anger can be a dangerous weapon.It can burn you up and burn you out while you fight for revenge against the injustices being done to you.

There’s no need to burn bridges. Ever. The bridge might be crumbling. The foundation week. It might be built on unstable ground.But burning the bridge doesn’t make your journey to the other side any easier.

We often think of leadership how Hollywood would create a film about it — Alexander the Great standing in front of his armies waving a sword motivating his soldiers with powerful words to follow him into battle.

One of the deadly misperceptions in business is that you can “manage” unhappy customers into just going away.That if you stymie progress and claim that “your hands are tied” or “you have to stick to the process” customers will eventually stop asking for better service and just go along with the craziness you call value.

No matter what job you’re tasked to do or what goals you hope to achieve, “making a difference” is the only metric that needs to be measured. If what you’re doing isn’t “making a difference” then it is a waste of your time and you should stop doing it. If what you’re doing is “making a difference” then you need to keep doing it until you ultimately arrive at where you want to be.